IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14S80 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHJVI/iCMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  institute  for  Historicai  IViicroreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notaa  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquas 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction.  or  which  may  aignificantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackaid  balow. 


□    Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I     I    Covara  damagad/ 


D 


Couvartura  andommagte 


Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Cruvartura  raatauria  at/ou  palliculte 


□   Covar  titia  miaaing/ 
La  tit 


titra  da  couvartura  manqua 


I     I   Colourad  mapa/ 


[Zf 

D 
D 
D 


Cartas  giographiquas  an  coulaur 

Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 


Colourad  platas  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planchaa  at/ou  illuatrationa  an  coulaur 


D 


D 


Bound  with  othar  matarial/ 
RaliA  avac  d'autras  documanta 

Tight  binding  may  causa  shadowa  or  distortion 
along  intarior  margin/ 

La  re  liura  sarria  paut  causar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 
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Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimantaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilmi  la  mailleur  exemplaire 
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da  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peiit-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mAthoda  normale  de  filmage 
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Pagea  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 


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0^ 


Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicolories.  tacheties  ou  piqudes 


Tha 
tot 


Thfl 
poi 
ofl 
filn 


Orii 
bo| 
the 
sioi 
oth 
firs 
sioi 
ori 


□Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ditachies 

r~V  Showthrough/ 
Llll   Transparence 

r~l   Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quaiit6  inigala  de  i'impression 

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Comprend  du  material  supplimentaire 

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n 


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ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
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obtenir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

■ 

y 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

Thi 
aha 
TIN 
whi 

Ma 
difl 
ant 
bed 
rigl 
raq 
me 


m". 


The  copy  filmod  htra  hat  bMn  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  tho  ganorosity  of: 

Library  off  tha  Public 
Archivas  of  Canada 


L'axampiaira  filmA  f ut  raproduit  grica  h  la 
g4n«rositA  da: 

La  bibliothAqua  das  Archivas 
publiquas  du  Canada 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
posslbia  conaldaring  tha  condition  and  laglblllty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
ffilming  contract  spaclffications. 


Original  coplas  In  printad  papar  covara  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  lllustratad  impras- 
slon,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  approprlata.  All 
othar  original  coplas  ara  fllmad  baglnning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  lllustratad  Impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  lllustratad  Imprasslon. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microflcha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  <— »>  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 

Maps,  platas,  charts,  ate,  may  ba  ffllmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antlraly  includad  In  ona  axposura  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  In  tha  uppar  lafft  hand  cornar,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raqulrad.  Tha  ffollowing  diagrams  illustrata  tha 
mathod: 


Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  AtA  raprodultas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  l'axampiaira  ffllmA,  at  an 
confformitA  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
ffilmaga. 

Las  axamplairas  orlginaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
paplar  ast  ImprlmAa  sont  filmte  an  commandant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  solt  par  la 
dr^mlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'Imprassion  ou  d'iliustratlon,  solt  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplairas 
orlginaux  sont  ffilmte  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'Imprassion  ou  d'lllustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  taila 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolas  sulvants  apparattra  sur  la 
darnlAra  imaga  da  chaqua  microfficha,  salon  la 
cas:  la  symbols  -^  signlffia  "A  SUIVRE",  la 
symbols  ▼  signiffia  "FIN". 

Las  cartas,  pianchas,  tableaux,  ate,  pauvant  Atre 
ffllmte  A  das  taux  da  r6duction  difffArants. 
Lorsqua  la  documant  ast  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raproduit  an  un  saul  cllchA,  il  ast  filmA  A  partir 
da  I'angia  supAriaur  gaucha,  da  gauche  it  droita, 
at  da  haut  an  bas,  an  pranant  la  nombre 
d'Imagas  ntcessaira.  Las  diagrammas  suivants 
lllustrant  la  mAthoda. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

t 


EARLY  VOYAGES 

UP  AND  DOWN  THE  xMISSISSIPPI, 

BY 

CAVELIER,  ST.  COSME,  LE  SUEUR, 
GRAVIER,  AND  GUIGNAS. 


(. 


With  an  Introduction^  Notes ^and  an  Index^ 


Bv  JOHN  GILMARY  SHKA. 


u 


ALBANY : 

JOEL    MUNSELL. 

1861 


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Five  hundred  copies 
reprinted  for 

Joseph  McDonough 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

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No.  ZS.Jfuo^^ 


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TO    THE 

MICHIGAN,  WISCONSIN,  AND  IOWA 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETIES. 

AS    A    TOKEN    OF    MEMBERSHIP, 

THIS    VOLUME    IS    OFFERED 


BV 


JOHN  GILMARY  SHEA. 


v\ 


(#ir* 


¥H. 


aiiaTniTlTiaP  J 


^s^9sm&imm^»^ 


CONTENTS. 


f 


5 

7 


13 


Preface,     -----... 

Introduftion,        -        -        -        -        .        . 

I.  Cavelier's  account  of  La  Salle's  Voyage  to  the 

Mouth  of  the  Miffiffippi ;  his  landing  in 
Texas  and  march  to  the  Miffiffippi, 

II.  Voyage  down  the  Miffiffippi  in  1699,  by  the 

Rev.  Meffrs.  Montigny,  St.  Cofme,  Da- 
vion  and  Thaumur  de  la  Source,     -    - 

III.  Le  Sueur's   Voyage   up   the   Miffiffippi    in 

1699-1700,         -        -        -         -        _ 

IV.  Gravier's  Voyage  down  and  up  the  Miffif- 

fippi in  1700,  -        -        .        .  ,,^ 

V.  Guignas's  Voya^^.:  ;ip  the  Miffiffippi,  -       165 
Appendix,  Letter  of  La  Salle  from  Texas,  177 

B 


43 


87 


"^rirT-Tlii'rmiiT'" 


PREFACE 


f.HE  Narratives  coUe&ed  in 
this  Volume  form  a  Sequel  to 
thofe  Accounts  already  publijhed  of 
the  Explorations  under  Marquette 
and  La  Salle^  and  refer  chiefly  to  the  Mo- 
ment of  the  permanent  French  Occupation 
of  the  Lower  Mijftjftppi,  They  are  derived 
from  various  Sources,  The  Journal  of  Mr, 
John  Caveliery  La  Sailers  Brother  y  though 
fpoken  of  by  Joutely  remained  unpublifhed 
till  Mr,  Francis  Parkman  allowed  me  to 
Print  it  from  a  Manufcript  in  his  PoJfeJJion, 
The  Letters  of  Mr,  de  Montigni  of  the  Se- 
minary of  i^uebec  and  his  AJfociates^  I  owe  to 


\l 


viii  Preface. 

tJbe  Kindnefs  of  the  fame  Friend,  Le  Sueur's 
Voyage  is  taken  from  Benard  de  la  Harpe^ 
already  in  Print,  The  Voyage  of  Gravier 
is  from  the  limited  Edition  printed  from  the 
Manufcript  in  the  Profejfed  Houfe  in  Paris, 
The  Letter  of  Father  Guignasy  detailing  as 
it  does  the  Eflahlijhment  of  Fort  Beauharnais 
at  Lake  Pepin^  was  furnijhed  to  me  by  the 
Kindnefs  of  J,  Carfon  Brevoorty  Efq, 

While  this  Volume  was  printings  Col, 
Delafield  fent  me  Tomajffs  Geologie  Pra- 
tique de  la  Louifiane,  which  I  had  been 
unable  to  procure  here  in  Seafon^  and  from 
it  I  extraEled  the  Letter  of  La  Salle's  given 
in  the  Appendix ^  and  which  refers  dire&ly 
to  the  firfi  Article, 

New  York,  1861. 


(^ 


INTRODUCTION. 


.^ 


n 


ANY  a  river  lives  embalmed  in 
hiftory  and  in  hiftortck  verfe. 
The  Euphrates,  the  Nile,  the 
Jordan,  the  Tiber  and  the  Rhine 
typify  the  courfe  of  empires  and 
dynafties.  Countries  have  been 
dcfcribed  per  ^umina,  but  thefe  ftreams  poffefs 
renown  rather  from  fome  city  that  frowned  on 
their  currents,  or  fome  battle  fought  and  won  on 
their  banks.  The  great  River  of  our  Weft,  from 
its  immenfe  length  and  the  ftill  increafing  import- 
ance of  its  valley,  poiTefTes  a  hiftory  of  its  own.  Its 
difcovery  by  the  Spanifh  adventurers,  a  Cabeza  de 
Vaca,  a  de  Soto,  a  Triftan,  who  reached,  crofled,  or 
followed  it,  is  its  period  of  early  romance,  brilliant, 
brief,  and  tragick.  Its  exploration  by  Marquette 
and  La  Salle  follows,  work  of  patient  endurance  and 


VUl 


IntrbduSiion, 


inveftigation,  ftill  tinged  with  that  light  of  heroifm 
that  hovers  around  all  who  flruggle  through  diffi- 
culty and  adverfity  to  attain  a  great  and  ufeful  end. 
Then  come  the  early  voyages  depicting  the  fucceffive 
ftages  of  its  banks  from  a  wildernefs  to  civilization. 

The  death  of  La  Salle  in  Texas  in  his  attempt 
to  reach  Illinois  clofes  the  chapter  of  exploration. 
Iberville  opens  a  new  period  by  his  voyage  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Miffiffippi,  which  crowning  the  pre- 
vious efforts  gave  the  valley  of  the  great  river  to 
civilization,  Chriftianity  and  progrefs.  The  river 
had  become  an  object  of  rivalry.  Englifh,  French 
and  Spanifh  at  the  fame  moment  fought  to  fecure 
its  mouth,  but  fortune  favored  the  bold  Canadian, 
and  the  white  flag  reared  by  La  Salle  was  planted 
anew. 

Here  our  narratives  begin.  Cavelier's  is  a  page  of 
the  previous  chapter;  with  ftrange  details  and 
doubtful  authenticity,  marked,  like  every  other  ac- 
count of  La  Salle's  career,  with  a  note  of  fui'picion, 
yet  curious  and  flrange.  Did  La  Salle  actually 
reach  the  Miffiffippi  prior  to  his  death,  as  here 
aflerted  ?     We  may  doubt  it. 

After  Cavelier  and  Joutel  reached  Illinois  to  de- 
ceive Tonti  by  reprefenting  La  Salle  as  alive,  that 


*. 


i  / 


IniroduSiion,  ix 

noble  veteran  defcended  the  river  to  relieve  his 
commander^  but  in  vain. 

Traders  then  doubtlefs  drifted  down  to  barter  for 
furs,  but  wre  have  no  narrative  till  that  of  the  mif- 
(ionary  party  led  by  M.  de  Montigny,  who  in  1 698 
fet  out  to  evangelize  the  tribes  of  the  lower  Miifif- 
lippi.  Impetuous,  ardent,  but  eatily  difcouraged, 
the  leader  foon  loft  heart,  and  involved  in  difputes 
which  he  did  not  forefee,  fought  a  remote  field  in 
Afia  for  his  zeal,  to  be  plunged  in  troubles  even 
more  vexatious.  But  his  companions  remained  to 
labor  on  the  banks  of  the  MifHiiippi,  St.  Cofme  to 
die  at  lafl  by  the  hand  of  the  red  man,  Davion  and 
de  la  Source  to  labour  and  to  wait. 

Iberville  arrives.  His  narrative  would  here  find 
a  place,  but  it  is  a  volume  in  itfelf.  The  news  of 
his  landing  fpread  from  tribe  to  tribe.  The  north- 
ern nations,  led  by  the  golden  promifes  of  La  Salle, 
expeded  all  blefHngs  from  this  flep.  The  Illinois 
prepared  to  move  in  a  body  to  the  lower  Mifliffippi. 
Gravier  checks  their  mad  projedb  and  floats  down 
in  his  canoe  to  fee  how  matters  are.  His  journal, 
like  the  letters  of  St.  Cofme  and  his  companions, 
defcribe  the  river  and  the  tribes  upon  it,  as  he 
found  them  at  this  important  moment  in  the  hiflory 


X  Introdu&ion. 

of  the  river.  His  next  voyage  down  was  to  feek 
in  the  new  colony  furgical  aiTiftance  for  wounds 
which  the  medicine  men  had  inflidted,  and  which 
baffling  the  fkill  of  the  phyiician  proved  fatal  to  the 
mifflonary. 

Betides  Iberville's  own  account  and  as  a  pendant 
to  it,  comes  the  voyage  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Miflifflppi  to  the  Blue  Earth,  effected  in  canoe  by 
the  intrepid  Le  Sueur.  Fortunately  Benard  de  la 
Harpe  has  preferved  this,  and  it  blends  with  the 
others  to  give  a  complete  pifture  of  the  river. 

Then  for  fome  years  itineraries  of  the  MiflTiflippi 
fail  us,  and  we  have  accounts  of  portions  only. 
The  Urfulines  defcribe  briefly  the  voyage  to  New 
Orleans,  others  do  the  fame;  an  officer  in  the 
Chickafaw  war  details  day  by  day  the  march  up  the 
river  to  Fort  Aflumption.  The  letter  of  Guignas 
follows  in  part  the  track  of  Le  Sueur,  and  records 
the  planting  of  Fort  Beauharnais. 

At  the  moment  when  thefe  narratives  take  us  to 
the  valley  of  the  Mifliflippi  that  immenfe  territory 
prefented  a  flrange  contrail  to  its  prefent  condition. 
From  its  head  waters  amid  the  lakes  of  Minnefota 
to  its  mouth ;  from  its  weftern  fprings  in  the  heart 
of  the  Rocky  mountains  to  its  eaftern  cradle  in  the 


IntroduEiion. 


XI 


'Alleghanies,  all  was  yet  in  its  primeval  ftate.  The 
Europeans  had  but  one  fpot,  Tonty's  little  fort;  no 
white  men  roamed  it  but  the  trader  or  the  miffion- 
ary.  With  a  fparfe  and  fcattered  Indian  population, 
the  country,  teeming  with  buffalo,  deer  and  game, 
was  a  fcene  of  plenty.  The  Indian  has  vaniflied 
from  its  banks  with  the  game  that  he  purfued. 
The  valley  numbers  as  many  ftates  now  as  it  did 
white  men  then ;  a  bufy,  enterprifing,  adventurous 
population,  numbering  its  millions,  has  fwept  away 
the  unprogreflive  and  unaflimilating  red  man.  The 
languages  of  the  Illinois,  the  Quapaw,  the  Tonica, 
the  Natchez,  the  Ouma,  are  heard  no  more  by  the 
banks  of  the  great  water ;  no  calumet  now  throws 
round  the  traveller  its  charmed  power;  the  white 
banner  of  France  floated  long  to  the  breeze,  but  with 
the  flag  of  England  and  the  ftandard  of  Spain  all  dif- 
appeared  we  may  fay  within  a  century.  For  fifty 
years,  one  iingle  flag  met  the  eye,  and  appealed  to  the 
heart  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  fhores  of  the  Miflif- 
fippi.  Two  now  divide  it :  let  us  hope  that  the 
altered  flag  may  foon  refume  its  original  form,  and 
meet  the  heart's  warm  refponfe  at  the  mouth  as  at 
the  fource  of  the  Mifliffippi. 


I. 

CAVELIER'S    ACCOUNT 

OP 

LA  SALLE'S  VOYAGE 

TO  THE 

MOUTH    OF    THE     MISSISSIPPI.    HIS    LANDING    iN 
TEXAS.  AND    MARCH    TO   THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


„ 


j 


RELATION 

OF 

M.    CAVELIER. 


,>' 


ONSEIGNEUR : 

You  have  here  the  Relation  .JjgJ 
of  the  Voyage  un4ertaken  by  my 
brother*  to  difcover  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  the  Mouth  of  the 
MifnUipy.  An  unexpected  and 
tragical  death  having  prevented 
his  completing  it,  and  reporting  to  your  LordQiip, 
you  will,  I  truft,  approve  of  my  taking  his  place. 


I  The  Rev.  John  Cavclier, 
brother  of  La  Salle,  was  born  at 
Rouen.  Of  his  early  life  and  en- 
trance into  the  community  of  St. 
Sulpice,  I  find  no  account.  After 
the  death  of  his  brother,  he  with 

{outel  and  Father  Anaftatius  made 
is  way  to  Canada,  and  thence  to 
France,  concealing  the  fate  of  La 
Salle,  it  is  faid,  for  upwards  of  two 
years.  He  applied  to  the  Court  to 
fend  out  a  new  expedition,  and  fail* 


ing  in  this  he  retired  to  Rouen,  to 
die  houfe  of  his  fifter,  Mary  Mag- 
dalen Cavelier,  wife  of  the  Sieur 
Foi-tin  or  Le  Foreftier,  Secretory  to 
the  King,  and  died  there  after  171 7. 

z  Robert  Cavclier  de  la  Salle, 
was  born  at  Rouen  in  Normandy, 
of  a  rich  and  ancient  family,  and 
after  receiving  a  good  education 
entered  the  King's  fervice.  The 
ilatement  made   by  the    late  edi- 


! 


1 6  La  Sailers  Laji  Voyage, 

JjlJr  In  the  month  of  July,  1 684,3  we  left  la  Rochelle 
in  four  veflels  with  very  fine  weather.  The  feafon 
Teemed  to  promife  us  a  continuance  thereof,  and 
ihould  not  in  all  probability  lead  us  to  fear,  either 


dons  of  Hennepin,  that  he  enter- 
ed the  Society  of  Jeflu  and  thus 
loft  his  ihare  in  his  father's  eftate, 
feems,  like  other  ftatements  of  that 
work,  unreliable.  An  examination 
of  all  the  annual  catalogues  of  all 
the  French  provinces  cf  the  epoch, 
(hows  no  fuch  name  among  the 
novices  or  fcholaftics.  The  pre* 
ceding  note  and  this  narrative  men- 
tion all  his  relatives  of  whom  any 
account  is  given.  He  came  to  Ca- 
nada about  1668,  and  an  appa- 
rently apocryphal  account  makes 
him  foon  after  difcover  and  defcend 
the  Ohio  (feeDuflieux,  Le  Canada 
fous  le  domination  Francaife).  As 
a  trader  he  voyaged  extenfiveiy  on 
the  Lakes,  and  buih  a  trading  hou(e 
at  La  Chine,  which  owes  its  name 
to  him,  an  index  of  his  dcfircs. 
His  firll  official  employment  was  to 
yifit  the  Senecas,  and  invite  them  to 
a  general  Congrefs  of  the  tribes. 
He  had  gained  the  good  will  of 
Frontenac  and  propofed  to  him  vaft 
plans  of  difcovery  and  trade,  which 
received  his  fanftion.  The  French 
Court  in  1 67  5,  granted  him  Fort 
Frontenac  and  the  feigncury,  on 
condition  of  keeping  it  in  repair, 
maintaining  a  garrifon  and  clearing 
the  land.  He  obtained  alfo  a  pa- 
tent of  noblefle.  For  a  time  he 
pufhed  forward  trade  and  coloniza- 
tion at  Fort  Frontenac  (now  King- 
fton)  and  built  the  firft  veiTel  that 
ever  ploughed  the .  furface  of  Lake 


Ontario.  Obtaining  new  grants  in 
1678,  he  puflied  on  to  Niagara, 
built  a  veflel  there,  and  again  the 
pioneer  of  weftern  navigation,  failed 
through  Lakes  Erie,  St.  Clair  and 
Huron  to  Mackinac.  Sending  ba:k 
his  veflel  with  a  load  of  furs,  he 
proceeded  in  canoes  to  the  Illinois 
country,  building  a  fort  on  the  St. 
Jofeph's  river,  and  another  on  the 
Illinois,  whofe  name,  Crevecoeur, 
records  his  defpondencv  at  receiving 
no  tidings  of  his  bark  or  fuppUes 
from  Frontenac.  Left  unfupported, 
he  returned  by  land  to  his  fort  on 
Lake  Ontario ;  but  while  abfent  his 
party  were  driven  from  the  Illinois 
by  the  Senecas,  and  La  Salle  on  his 
arrival  at  Fort  Crevecoeur  found  it 
deferted.  After  fome  fearch  he 
joined  Tonty  at  Mackinaw.  Here 
reorganizing  his  party  he  defcended 
the  Illinois  to  the  Mifliflippi,  and 
followed  that  river  to  its  mouth, 
which  he  reached  April  9,  1682. 
Returning  to  France,  he  fought  to 
make  the  mouth  of  the  river  by 
fea.  He  failed  to  difcover  it,  was 
abandoned  in  Texas,  and  in  an 
attempt  to  reach  Canada,  was  killed 
by  his  own  men,  March  19,  1687. 
See  his  Life  by  Sparks,  vol  i.  N.  S. 
American  Biography,  "The  Dif- 
covery and  Exploration  of  the  Mif- 
fiflippi,"  &c. 

3  In  another  Memoir  he  gives 
the  date  as  July  23  or  24. 


1 


.y. 


II 


A> 


m 


Cavelier's  Account, 

a  calm  or  ereat  heats.  Neverthelefs  the  clofe^^lg* 
of  the  montn  brought  a  florm,  which  difmafted 
the  vefleh  my  brother  was  in,  and  compelled  us 
all  to  put  back  to  the  port  from  which  we  had 
ftarted.^  We  fet  fail  again,  and  a  few  days  after  a 
fecond  ftorm  difperfed  our  little  fleet;  the  St. 
Fran9oi8'  was  taken  by  Spanifh  cruifers,  and  the 
other  three  got  together  only  at  Petit  Goave  in 
St.  Domingo.  I  will  not  give  your  Lordfhip  the 
detail  of  our  courfe  or  manceuvres  to  that  point,  as 
that  is  not  my  profeilion. 

If  thefe  unfortunate  accidents  damped  the  ardor 
of  our  adventurers,  the  condudt  of  Mr.  de  Beaujeu, 
Captain  of  a  {hip  of  the  line,^  who  commanded  one 
of  the  {hips  of  the  fleet,  did  fo  no  lefs;  and  if  your 
Lordfhip  takes  pains  to  examine,  vou  will  find  that 
that  officer,  jealous  of  my  brother's  having  the 
principal  authority  and  the  direction  of  the  enter^ 
prife,  fo  traverfed  it,  that  the  failure  may  be  attri- 
buted to  him.^ 


17 


4  This  veflel  was  le  Joli,  com- 
ninded  by  Mr.  de  Beaujeu,  the 
Commander  of  the  fleet,  whofe  per* 
verfenefs  caufed  the  ruin  of  all  con- 
cerned. Joutel,  p.  1 5,  and  Cave- 
lier,  in  another  Memoir,  hint  that 
the  breaking  of  the  foremaft  was 
planned. 

5  Joutel  fays  they  put  in  at  Roche- 
fort,  p.  15.  Father  Le  Clercq  fays 
at  Chef-de-bois,  which  agrees  with 
Cavelier;  Chef-de-bois  being  the 
roaditead  before  la  Rochelle. 


6  This  Ketch  contained  provi- 
fions  and  agricultural  implements 
for  the  colony,  and  the  loft  was 
confequendy  a  ferious  one. 

7 -Joutel  and  Cavelier,  in  ano- 
ther Memoir,  dilate  on  the  trouble 
with  B^aujeu,  and  Cavelier  there  in- 
troduces a  particular  account  of  La 
Salle's  dangerous  illneis  at  St.  Do- 
mingo. 

8  The  French  diftinguilh  as  dif- 
ferent ranks  Captain  of  a  frigate  and 
Captain  of  a  man-of-war  or  flUp  of 
the  line. 


i 


i8 


La  SalUs  Laft  Voyage. 


1 614* 


We  made  fome  flay  at  Petit  Goave  to  give  our 
crew  a  little  refreHiment  and  to  prepare  to  carry 
out  the  project  conveniently.  There  Mr.  de  Beaujeu 
began  to  employ  all  means  that  he  could  invent  to 
prevent  my  brother  from  going  further ;  neverthe- 
lefs  we  fet  fail  towards  the  latter  part  of  November, 
intending  to  reconnoitre  the  land  ten  or  twenty 
leagues  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  but  head 
winds  having  forced  us  to  put  back  feveral  times ; 
mv  brother  at  lail  determined  to  explore  Florida, 
whatever  point  we  made,  but  Mr.  de  Beaujeu  did 
not  follow  him.  He  abandoned  us,  under  pretext 
of  having  been  furprifed  by  a  fquall. 
'••s-  On  the  iixth  of  January,'  we  made  the  coaft  of 
Florida,  and  fuppofing  ourfelves  north  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  we  failed  foutherly  along  the  coaft, 
crowding  fail,  for  fear  of  being  forced  by  the  cur- 
rents into  Bahama  channel.  Some  days  after,  on 
taking  the  altitude,  we  found  ourfelves  mty  leagues 
fouth,  which  obliged  us  to  turn  back  and  retrace  our 
.p,^  fteps.  Still  coafting  along,  we"  difcovered  Efpiritu 
Santo  Bay,<°  where  we  found  Mr.  de  Beaujeu ;  my 
brother  had  a  long  conference  with  him  there,  at 
the  clofe  of  which  the  three  veiTels  fet  fail  to  pur- 
fue  the  fearch. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  de  Beaujeu  fent  his  long 
boat  to  my  brother  to  tell  him  that  he  had  failed 
fifty  leagues  fince  he  left  Efpiritu  Santo  Bay,  and 
that  difcovering  inland,  a  kind  of  gulf  or  river,  it 


9  Joutel,  p.  34,  makes  them  reach 
Itad  m  December. 


10  Joutel  fays  Januaiy  8. 


1^ 


Cavelier^s  Account, 


»9 


might  be  the  MiiHiiipy,  and  that  he  had  no  orders  'Jjj^' 
to  go  any  further ;  my  brother  allowed  himfelf  to 
be  perfuaded  that  this  might  be  one  of  the  arms  of 
that  river ;  and  havine  fent  out  his  boat  to  found, 
he  found  three  and  a  half  fathoms  of  water  in  the 
ihalloweft  part  of  the  channel,  and  entered  with 
his  vefTel.  He  ordered  the  pink  to  unload  as  much 
as  poflible,  and  to  wait  till  he  fent  a  pilot  to  bring 
her  in,  but  this  was  fo  badly  done  that  (he  ftruck 
Oil  a  fand  bar  and  could  not  get  ofF." 

Meanwhile  Mr.  de  Beaujeu,  who  had  anchored 
off,  wrote  to  my  brother,  and  fent  the  letter  by  his 
lieutenant."  He  told  him,  that  having  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Mifliflipy  he  believed  that  he  had 
fufficiently  fulfilled  his  duty ;  that  having  feen  the 
pink  periih  before  his  eyes,  he  did  not  think  it 
proper  to  rifk  entering  the  river  with  his  (hip,  for 
fear  of  a  like  mishap :  that  having  no  more  provi- 
fions  or  refrefhments,  he  was  determined  to  return 
to  France,  and  he  begged  him  to  fend  his  letters 
for  the  Court,  with  his  exoneration  from  all  the 
accidents  that  had  happened,  or  might  thereafter 
happen.     My  brother  moil  generouHy  granted  all. 

Moniieur  de  Beaujeu  having  accordingly  hoifted 
fail  for  France,' 3  my  brother  undertook  to  do  three  Mmh  14. 


*  <  Joutel,  p.  79,  and  Le  Clercq  in- 
cline to  tliink  tlielofs  of  the  Aimabh 
intendonal  on  the  part  of  the  captain. 

«*  The  Chevalier  d'Aire.  Beau- 
Jeu  took  with  him  the  captain  and 
crew  of  the  Aimable,  Rev.  Mr, 


Dainmaville  and  fome  others,  and 
refufed  to  give  La  Salle  the  cannon 
and  cannon  balls  in  his  hold. 

1 3  Le  Clercq  fays  the  1 2th ;  Joutel 
from  recoUe£tion,  the  i^th. 


t 


JO 


La  Salle's  Lajt  Voyage, 


^^  things  at  once :  one  was  to  make  a  florehoufe  on 
'  diore  to  lay  up  his  ammunition  and  provilions, 
merchandife  and  other  things ;  the  other  was  to  go 
himfelf  with  thirty  or  forty  men  to  feledt  a  fuitable 
place  for  a  fettlement  at  the  end  of  the  bay ;  and 
the  other  to  bring  his  veiTel  as  fur  as  he  could  into 
the  bay.  All  this  was  executed ;  for  the  vefTel  was 
brought  up  to  the  mouth  of  a  river  to  which  the 
name  of  Vache^^  (Cow)  was  given,  on  account  of 
the  number  of  that  animal  found  there,  and  here 
he  built  a  little  fort  of  fourteen  guns,  with  fniall 
but  pretty  convenient  houfes,  and  ftorehoufes  fuffi- 
cient  to  contain  all  that  we  had.'s 

Meanwhile  my  brother,  originally  under  the  idea 
that  the  river  we  were  in  was  one  of  the  arms 
of  the  Mifliflipy,  on  account  of  the  quantity  of 
reeds  it  bore  down  to  the  fea,  at  lail  faw  his  error 
and  formed  the  deiign  of  difcovering  it  by  land ; 
but  unable  to  leave  his  fort  without  expoiing  it  to 
the  infults  of  the  neareft  Indians,  who  were  waging 
I^iS^S  *  cruel  war  onus''*  (believing  us  Spaniards),  he 
endeavored  to  gain  their  confidence  and  friendship. 


tnowi 


i4Afterwar(ls  called  by  the  Span- 
iards La  Vaca  river«  which  name  it 
ftUl  retains,  the  only  name  in  Texas 
of  La  Salle's.  The  Vacht  here 
evidently  means  the  Bifon,  though 
in  Canada  the  Vache  Sauvage  was 
the  Moofe.  Joutel  (p,  113)  calls 
it,  Riviire  aux  Baufi. 

15  Joutel  (p.  126)  and  Father 
Anaftafius  (Difcoveiy  of  the  Mif> 


fiffippi,  p.  207)  both  defcribe  this 
Fort  as  St.  Louis.  According  to 
the  former  it  was  at  a;"  N.,  two 
leagues  from  the  Bay,  near  the  banb 
of  La  Vaca  river,  which  lay  north  of 
it,  a  mar(h  and  hill  lying  between 
them. 

1 6  Joutel  mentions  two  by  name, 
Meflrs.  Oris  and  Defloges. 


1 


Caviller's  Accounts 


31 


Your  Lordfhip  knows  that  he  has  an  admirable  ^S^ 
tad  for  that.  He  employed  it  To  adroitly  in  this 
ooniundure,  that  before  the  clofe  of  July  we  mu- 
tually viiited  each  other ;  we  often  went  to  their 
village,**  '7  which  was  quite  near  our  fort  (which  JJ*tJiJ]Mi? 
we  will  in  future  call  Fort  of  St.  Louis  Bay),**  and  ■««•"»••• 
one  day  they  offered  to  guide  my  brother  to  a 
neighboring  nation,  their  ally,  only  about  fifteen 
leagues  off,  to  fhow  him,  they  faid,  curious  things. 
My  brother  accepted  their  offer,  thanked  them  ror 
the  friendfhip  they  tefliBed,  and  made  them  fome 
prefents ;  after  which  fetting  out'9  to  the  number  of 
twenty-four,  accompanied  by  a  troop  of  Indians, 
we  arrived  at  a  large  village,  furrounded  by  a  kind 
of  wall  made  with  potter's  clay  and  fand,  fortified 
with  little  towers  at  intervals,  where  we  found 
faflened  to  a  pofl  the  arms  of  Spain  engraved  on 
a  copper  plate,  dated  1588. 

The  people  welcomed  us  and  fhowed  us  fome 
hammers  and  an  anvil,  two  fmall  pieces  of  iron 
cannon,  a  fmall  bronze  culverine,  fpearheads,  old 
fword  blades  and  fome  volumes  of  Spanifh  comedies; 
and  leading  us  thence  to  a  little  fifhing  hamlet 
about  two  leagues  off,  they  fhowed  us  afecond  pofl 


i7Thefc  Bracamos  are  noi  av  ;- 
tioned  by  name  by  Jou(eL  J  e 
elfewhere  fpeaks  of  the  Hebaham'^s ; 
and  Barcia  (Enfayo  Cronologico, 
p.  294)  fays  that  the  fort  was  in  the 
territory  of  the  Quelanhubeches  and 
Bahamos.  Father  Anaftafius  (Dif- 
covery  of  the  Miffiffippi,  p.  209) 


mentions  the  Bahamos  and  Quinets 
as  hoftile  nations. 

18  St.  Louis  Bay  was  called  by 
the  Spaniards  Efpiritu  Santo  Bay, 
but  the  part  where  J  '  G-.'le  was,  is 
the  prefent  Matagorda  Bay. 

'9  In  Odtobcr,  apparently. 


liiiMllllip>~- 


22  La  Salle's  Lafl  Voyage, 

IfSt*  ^^^°  bearing  the  arms  of  Spain  and  fome  old  chiiii- 
neys.^°  All  this  convinced  u$  that  the  Spaniards 
had  been  there  before.  They  alfo  gave  us  to  un- 
derftand  by  figns  that  the  Miflifipy  River  was  very 
difficult  to  find,  becaufe  its  mouth  could  not  be  per- 
ceived a  league  off.  They  then  drev^r  veflels  with 
coal,  and  gave  us  to  underftand  that  many  pafTed 
along  their  coaft. 

Having  taken  leave  of  thefe  Indians,  to  whom  we 
made  fome  prefents  and  courtefy  for  courtefy,  we 
returned  to  our  fort  at  St.  Louis  Bay,  where  we  made 
fome  flay  to  cultivate  more  and  more  the  confi- 
dence and  friendfhip  of  our  Bracamos  (fo  is  the 
Indian  nation  called  that  dwells  near  our  fort),  in 
order  to  leave  protestors  to  the  people  whom  we 
would  have  to  leave  in  the  fort  while  we  went 
overland  to  feek  the  MifTifipy. 

We  obferved  during  our  flay,  that  the  eafl  winds 
generally  prevail  by  day,  and  wefl  winds  by  night; 
that  the  leafl  fpeck  of  cloud  forebodes  a  violent 
gale,  which  will  lafl  an  hour  at  mofl ;  that  the 
north  winds  (which  the  Spaniards  there  dread  im- 
menfely)  are  not  fo  violent  as  the  wefl  winds  which 
the  fifhing  fmacks  fland  in  winter  time  on  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland ;  and  laflly  that  the  tide 
rifes  here  but  very  flightly.  We  faw  quantities  of 
fait,  formed  naturally  in  various  fpots,  which  led  us 
to  infer  that  it  would  be  eafy  to  make  fucceflFul 
fait  works. 

»o  Father  Morfi  in  his  very  full    filent  as  to  any  Spanifli  occupation 
manufcript  Hiftoiy  of  Texas,   is    of  fo  early  a  date. 


li 


-"  / 


1"  p^. 


Cavelier's  Account, 


23 


Having  then  provided  for  the  fecurity  of  the  *JJJ?' 
fort  by  the  friendship  of  the  neighbouring  Indians, 
by  arms  and  ammunition,  and  for  the  fubfiflence  of 
the  people  whom  we  left  there  by  the  provifions  and 
goods  which  remained,  and  after  my  brother  had 
recommended  vigilance,  patience,  and  devotion  to 
the  King's  fervice,  we  fet  out  on  the  firft  of  No-  Nov.  1. 
vember,  accompanied  by  thirty  men,  carrying  only  m°j7*2^,,J/ 
our  arms,  ammunition  for  game,  and  feme  trifling  »  discover  the 

^^    1        r       ^v       T     J"  mouth  of   the 

articles  for  the  Indians.  Hver  by  und. 

Ten  or  twelve  days  after,  we  found  a  very  popu- 
lous village,  where  the  men  and  women  wore  large 
pearls  hanging  from  the  cartilage  between  the  two 
noftrils.  I  bought  a  few  in  order  to  (how  your 
Lordihip.  I  have  already  {hown  them  to  Catillon, 
lapidary  at  Paris,  who  affured  me  that  they  were 
of  the  nneft  water,  in  the  world,  but  imperfedt  in 
fhape*  We  tried  to  learn  from  thefe  Indians  the 
place  whence  they  drew  this  precious  merchandife, 
but  being  able  to  underftand  us  only  by  figns,  we 
could  only  prefume  that  ihey  got  them  from  the 
fea  when  they  went  to  catch  fiflb,  for  they  fhowed 
us  large  pirogues  and  nets  which  apparently  were 
folely  for  this  ufe.  We  have  fince  learned  that 
many  fmall  rivers  which  pafs  through  their  country 
empty  into  St.  Louis  Bay. 

Having  left  this  nation,  we  ran  for  two  months  December  and 
in  fearch  of  our  river  with  no  hope  of  finding  it,  J*"""''- 
finding  only  Indians  whofe  manners   kept  us   in 
perpetual  diftruft ;  we  did  not  dare  to  make  any 
ftay  in  any  place  for  fear  of  fome  furprife.     The 


. 


\  t 


H 


La  Salle's  haft  Voyage. 


1688. 


''mS?*  continual  marching,  the  rigour  of  the  feafon,  and 
the  fears  that  we  had  conceived  from  the  referved 
and  diftruflful  manners  of  the  Indians,  made  us 
undergo  hardships,  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  me 
to  exprefs. 

Febnury/  In  the  beginning  of  February  we  came  to  a  pretty 
large  river,  which  my  brother  thought  might  be 
the  Miffifipy,  although  its  courfe  was  jufl:  the  oppo- 
fite ;  our  fentiments  were  different,  we  followed  its 
banks  for  two  days,  without  meeting  man  or  beaft. 
Some  days  after,  having  perceived  a  village,  we 
deemed  proper  to  fire  a  volley  before  entering,  in 
order  to  alarm  the  Indians  and  put  them  to  flight, 
fo  as  to  take  from  their  cabins  what  Indian  corn 
we  needed;  this  having  been  executed,  we  left 
them  the  payment  on  the  fpot,  after  which  we  left 
to  continue  our  fearch. 

We  had  fcarcely  made  a  league  when  we  per- 
ceived two  Indians  running  after  us.  We  firfl 
thought  the  villagers,  charmed  with  the  beauty  of 
the  knives,  fcifTors  and  needles  that  we  had  left  in 
payment,  had  deputed  them  to  bring  us  back,  but 
we  were  greatly  furprifed  when  we  faw  thefe  In- 
dians fall  on  my  brother  and  almoft  flifle  him  by 
their  embraces  in  the  tranfport  of  pleafure  which 
they  experienced  on  feeing  him  again.  They  were 
two  Shawnees,  of  three  whom  my  brother  lofl 
when  he  defcended  to  the  mouth  of  the  Miffifipy 
by  the  Ilinois  river.     They  told  us  that  their  com- 

it  wu  in  rade  was  fick  in  the  village,  to  which  they  begged 
us  to  return,  afTuring  us  of  the  humanity  and  good 


1 68s. 


ii 


1) 


Cavalier's  Account, 

faith  of  the  people.  My  brother  was  fincerely  ^"JjJJ^' 
pleafed  to  find  them  again,  and  in  hopes  of  learning 
from  them  what  he  defired,  he  made  no  difficulty 
of  refolving  to  follow  them.  They  took  us  firft  to 
their  cabin,  where  we  found  their  comrade.  They 
made  us  take  up  our  quarters  there,  while  a  larger 
cabin  was  preparing  for  us  near  by. 

They  told  us,  that  having  gone  out  to  hunt 
while  in  my  brother's  fervice,  they  were  furrounded 
and  taken  by  thirty  or  forty  warriors  of  the  village 
where  we  were,  who  carried  them  there  without 
binding  them;  that  the  whole  nation,  and  even  their 
allies,  had  greatly  honoured  them  and  held  them 
for  fomething  more  than  men,  on  account  of  the 
power  of  their  guns ;  that  they  wondered  to  fee 
them  kill  a  bifon  a  hundred  paces  off,  and  feveral 
turkeys  at  a  fingle  fhot,  but  that  when  their  animu- 
nition  failed,  thefe  people  prefTed  them  to  make 
more  and  ridiculed  them  becaufe  they  had  not  the 
fecret  of  making  it.  They  alfo  told  us  that  they 
had  married  in  this  village,  and  that  they  had  had 
no  difficulty  in  learning  the  language.  They  then 
took  us  to  a  large  cabin  where  we  were  conven- 
iently lodged. 

It  was  from  thefe  three  Indians  that  we  learned 
that  we  were  only  forty  leagues  from  the  fca ;  that 
the  Indians  among  whom  we  were  made  war  on 
others  who  had  intercourfe  with  the  Spaniards,  dif- 
tant  about  1 30  leagues  from  the  Tea ;  that  there  was 
a  river  —  leagues  from  us,  more  beautiful  than  the  3°  l.  Th.y 
Miffifipy,  and  two  others  fifteen  or  twenty  leagues,  JAv"o.  *'*'  ^'^ 


u 


26 


February, 
1688. 


It  it  the  Shaw- 
neet  that  fpeak. 


<  Mr.Cavelier 
took  fome  to 
Paris,  where  the 
body  of  gold- 
fmithi  alfayed 
them  by  the 
King'i  order, 
and  found  that 
it  was  gold  ore, 
which  had  only 
half  wade. 
dRio  Bravo. 


•  Apparently 
the  road  from 
Old  to  New 
Mexico. 


La  Sailers  Loft  Voyage, 

in  which  gold  was  found  in  large  grains  and  in 
dull ;  that  the  Indians  ufed  it  only  to  make  collars 
and  bracelets,  but  that  they  valued  it  lefs  than  cer- 
tain red  ftones  which  they  put  to  the  fame  ufe. 

They  added :  We  have  been  to  war  again  ft  the 
nation  that  has  intercourfe  with  the  Spaniards  and 
took  fome  prifoners  who  were  neatly  dreifed  in  filk. 
They  told  us  that  the  Spaniards  furnifhcd  them 
their  clothes  and  many  other  things  in  exchange 
for  certain  ftones  which  they  prized  highly.  They 
diredled  us  to  the  fpot  whence  they  took  thefe  pre- 
cious ftones,  and  as  we  could  pafs  by  it,  without 
deviating  much  from  the  route  we  had  to  take  back 
to  our  village,  we  eatily  perfuaded  our  troop,  as  curi- 
ous as  ourfelves,  to  go  there.  The  prifoners  a<5ting 
as  guides,  we  reached  a  hill  which  may  be  two 
leagues  long,  where  they  (howed  us  fome  holes 
made  by  the  Indians,  from  which  we  took<^  fome 
fpecimens  of  ftone  which  we  have  kept.  This  hill 
lies  about  forty  leagues  from  our  village,  and  is 
near  a  little  river  which  empties  in  a  larger  one,<^ 
which  coming  a  great  diftance  and  pafting  between 
two  ranges  of  hills  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  Spaniards  have  feveral  villages  on  the  fouthern 
part  of  this  river,  and  the  Indians  who  make  war 
on  them,  crofs  over  and  make  captures  along  the 
road,<^  which  they  frequent  with  little  precaution. 

They  alfured  us  that  there  was  not  a  nation  for 
a  hundred  leagues  around  but  feared  the  inroads  of 
the  Spaniards ;  that  they  dreaded  them  on  account 
of  the  frightful  ftories  told  of  their  fire  arms ;  that 


It 


- 


i,l 


Cavelier*s  Account, 


n 


H 


this  confideration  alone  had  prevented  their  leaguing  ^'JggJJ" 
together  to  undertake  to  carry  a  town,  lacking 
neither  defire,  courage  nor  means  of  uniting ;  that 
for  this  purpofe  they  could  bring  together  one 
hundred  thoufand  warriors  and  ten  thoufand  horfes, 
without  going  fifty  leagues  from  their  village;  that 
this  army  could  fubfift,  even  without  fupplies  of 
provifions,  by  the  quantity  of  bifon,  fmall  game  and 
fifh  found  everywhere,  by  merely  dividing  into 
troops  of  ten  thoufand  men,  and  giving  two  leagues 
of  land  to  each  troop,  and  always  camping  in  beau- 
tiful prairies  with  which  the  country  abounds ;  that 
even  if  we  wiflied  to  lay  up  provifions  of  Indian 
corn,  peas  or  beans,  it  could  eafily  be  done,  as  the 
earth  produces  plentifully  without  being  fowed  or 
cultivated ;  and  finally,  that  the  country  is  full  of 
all  forts  of  excellent  fruit,  which  would  alfo  be  a 
great  help.  They  convinced  us  that  they  needed 
only  good  leaders  and  fome  regular  troops  to  in- 
flrudt  them,  arms,  faddles,  bridles  and  ammunition. 
On  this  my  brother  having  afked  them  on  which 
fide  they  would  attack  the  Spaniards,  they  replied 
that  it  was  beyond  that  great  river*  of  which  they  *'^'°  ''"'<'• 
had  fpoken  to  us,  where  there  were  feveral  cities 
and  villages,  fome  open  and  others  fortified  merely 
by  palifades,  which  it  would  be  eafy  to  force,  the 
more  eafily  as  the  Indians  had  often  got  the  upper 
hand  of  them  ;  that  the  year  before  they  had  killed 
or  taken  over  two  thoufand  perfons  and  forced 
them  to  fend  religious  to  exhort  them  to  peace. 
They  told  us  moreover  that  the  Spaniards  had 


ill 


28  La  Sailers  Loft  Voyage. 

^•'Jjj'y*  more  than  30  gold  and  filvcr  mines  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  which  they  durft  not  work  on 
account  of  the  proximity  of  nations  that  they  were 
at  war  with. 

That  the  climate  of  the  country  northward  and 
Rio  Bravo,  caftward  of  the  great  river  was  perfectly  beautiful, 
and  fo  healthy  that  men  died  there  only  of  old  age 
or  fmall  pox ;  the  land  fo  fertile,  that  unfown,  un- 
tilled,  it  produced  two  crops  of  Indian*corn  and 
'  three  of  peafe  or  beans  a  year ;  that  they  were  told 
that  the  other  fide  of  the  river  was  neither  fertile 
nor  healthy; 

That  there  was  near  by  a  nation  that  made  cloth 

of  nettles,  wild  flax  and  the  bark  of  trees,  and  who 

The  Paru  ""'^""f^^^ured  cloth   of  buffalo  „  wool ;    that   they 

JnSedtofeeS*^®  thc  fineft  colours  in  the  world  to  all  their 

the  quality  of  fabrics;  in  fadt  they  gave  us  earth  of  all  colours, 

th»  earth.    ,^j^jj.j^  ^g  jqq|^  jq  France  ;*  that  there  were  other 

.Jd'*.?'"'  nations  to  the  northweft,  who  had  kings  and  chiefs 

the  Paniima-         ,,/-  ,./•  r  r  i 

ham  and  thc  and  oblervcd  lome  forms  or  government,  honormg 
ontotonta.   ^^^  refpcdting  their  kings  as  Europeans  do  theirs ; 
That  there  were  fome  on  the  Eaft  fo  fierce,  that 
it  had  never  had  any  communication  with  others, 
and  fo  cruel  that  they  devoured  each  other ; 

That  about  fifty  leagues  from  the  fpot  where  we 
were,  were  two  or  three  mountains  on  the  banks 
of  a  river,  from  which  were  taken  red  flones,  as 
clear  as  cryftal.  They  gave  us  fome  of  it  and  fome 
gold  ore  which  we  took  to  France. 

After  they  had  related  us  all  this,  my  brother 
wiihcd  to  induce  them  to  follow  him,  to  return  to 


Florida,  ap< 
parcntly. 


I 


Cavelier's  Account. 


29 


t    I 


i 


their  own  country ;  but  they  anfwered  him,  that  ^m™*''^' 
they  were  not  unnatural  enough  to  abandon  their 
wives  and  children;  that  moreover  being  in  the 
moft  fertile,  healthy  and  peaceful  country  in  the 
world,  they  would  be  devoid  of  fenfe  to  leave  it  and 
expofe  themfelves  to  be  tomahawked  by  the  Illinois 
or  burnt  by  the  Iroquois  on  their  way  to  another, 
where  the  winter  was  infufferably  cold,  the  fummer 
without  game,  and  ever  in  war ;  but  that  if  the 
French  built  or  eftablifhed  any  colony  in  the  Mif- 
fiiipy,  that  they  would  approach  it  and  that  they 
would  have  the  pleafure  of  rendering  them  confid- 
erable  fervices. 

Towards  the  clofe  of  January  we  parted  from 
our  honefl  Shawnees,  who  could  not  accompany  us 
to  the  Miflifipy  for  fear  of  being  fufpefted  of  wish- 
ing to  follow  us,  but  they  induced  ten  or  twelve 
warriors  to  lead  us.  On  the  i  oth  of  March  we 
defcried  the  river  Miflifipy,  where  we  left  fome 
men  in  a  little  redoubt  of  pickets,  which  we  made 
ourfelves,  and  retracing  our  fleps,  we  pafi!ed  again 
through  the  village  of  our  Shawnees,  where  we 
were  regaled  as  well  as  thefe  good  people  could 
regale  us,  and  continuing  our  march,  we  reached  Return  ofMr 
St.  Louis  Bay,  on  the  30th  of  the  month  of  March,  "*'  '*  *'"'■ 
1683." 


»» Joutel  and  Le  Clcrcq  are  very 
brief  as  to  this  journey  of  La  Salle, 
whofe  return  the  former  puts  in 
March,  the  latter  May  31,  1686. 
Joutel  denies  the  ftatement  in  the 
Pfeudo  Tonty,  that  in  this  expedi- 

E 


tion  La  Salle  reached  the  Mifliflippi, 
and  remarks :  "  We  muft  however 
"  fay  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Tonty,  that 
"  he  ftates  it  only  on  the  report  of 
"Rev.  Mr.  Cavelier,  La  Salle's 
"brother;  and  the  faid  Cavelier 


30 


February, 
1688. 


La  Sailers  Lafi  Voyage, 

Our  people  received  us  with  all  pofTible  joy,  and 
we  experienced  much  pleafure  to  find  them  all  in 
good  health ;  but  our  joy  was  Toon  marred  by  the 
mod  diilrefUng  accident  in  the  world  ;  for  our  fri- 
gate, eight  or  ten  days  after  our  arrival,  flruck  and 
perifhed  with  all  on  board  except  eight  men.*'^ 
The  lofs  which  we  had  fuftained  of  ten  men,  the 
beft  failors  we  had  on  board,  who  were  killed  with 
arrows  by  the  Bracamos  at  the  time  they  made  war 
on  us,  fuppofing  us  to  be  Spaniards,  was  furely  the 
caufe  of  the  lofs  of  the  vefTel,  which  perhaps  lacked 
experienced  people ;  in  fine,  the  chagrin  that  my 
brother  experienced  at  the  lofs,  joined  to  the  hard- 
ships which  we  had  undergone  during  our  painful 
march,  brought  on  a  malady  which  nearly  took 
him  out  of  the  world,  and  overwhelmed  our  little 
party  with  defpair.  In  fadt,  my  Lord,  after  the  lofs 
of  the  vefTel,  which  deprived  us  of  our  only  means 
of  returning  to  France,  we  had  no  refource  for  our 
fubfiflence  except  my  brother's  good  management 
and  firmnefs,  and  each  of  us  regarded  his  death  as 
his  own,  for  we  beheld  ourfelves  cafl  away  in  a 
favage  country,  without  afliflance  and  cut  off  by 
immenfe  diflances  from  every  Chriflian  nation. 


"  may  have  reafons  for  pretending 
'*  that  they  difcovered  the  Miffiffippi 
"  in  the  fame  view  that  obliged  him 
•*  to  conceal  his  brother's  death." 
p.  5.  Le  Clercq  in  the  Mtabliffe- 
ment  ie  la  Foi  (lee  Shea's  Dijc.  of 
the  Mijftjpppi^  p.  195)  fays:  "At 
"laft,  on  the   13th  of  February, 


**  1 686,  he  thought  that  he  had  found 
"the  river,   he   fortified  a  place, 
"  left  a  part  of  his  men  and  with 
"  nine  others  continued  to  explore, 
"  a  moft  beautiful  country." 

aa  For  the  lofs  of  the  Belle,  fee 
Joutel,  140. 


// 


Cavelier's  Account. 


31 


Mv  brother  recovered  *..  laft,  and  when  his  ^*''y' 
health  was  perfe(ftly  reftored,  he  propofed  to  under- 
take to  reach  Canada  by  land,  fo  as  to  come  to 
France  to  report  what  he  had  done.  The  way  is 
long,  painful  and  dangerous  beyond  all  that  can  be 
exprefied  to  the  contrary,  fo  the  lead  hardy  durfl  not 
undertake  it.  Thefe  my  brother  left  in  charge  of 
the  fort,  with  neccflary  provifions,  commending 
them  to  remain  flrongly  attached  to  the  king's 
fervice.  He  formed  a  party  of  thofe  who  were 
difpofed  to  follow  him.  Father  Athanafius,  my 
nephew  Moranget,  my  brother's  godfon,  two 
Shawnee  Indians,  who  had  followed  my  brother  to 
France,  and  I,  were  of  the  party.  ^^g 

We  ftarted  on  the  13th  of  April,  i685,*3  andApriii'3. 
laid  our  route  fo  as  to  pafs  by  the  Illinois,  where  of*  ux^^^x^ 
we  had  refolved  to  reft.     It  feems  to  me  unnecef-  JiJ'Jy'j^e^JSS; 
fary  to  fpeak  here  of  the  minutiae  of  our  march,  •>«»'» 
and  I  will  merely  fay  in  general  the  moft  remarkable 
things  that  we  faw  and  obferved. 

We  were  very  kindly  and  affedtionately  received 
by  all  the  nations  that  we  paffed  through.     We 
had  plenty  every  where ;  we  received  prefents  and 
were  fupplied   with   guides  and   horfes.     Among  dviS  JaS, 
thefe  nations,  the  Senis**  feem  to  us  the  moft  nu- "'"*"'''""'• 


*3  Father  Anaftafius  (not  Athana- 
fins)  in  Le  Clercq  details  this  expe- 
dition.    The  real  date  is  1686. 

-4  The  Senis  or  Coenis  are  called 
Aflinais  by  the  Spanifh  writers. 
According  to  Father  Morfi,  in  his 
Mcm:Tias  para  la  Hiftoria  de  la 


Provincia  de  Texas,  they  were  one 
of  the  tribes  cotnprifed  under  the 
general  name  of  Texas,  which  be- 
fides  the  Texas  proper  and  the 
Aflinais,  included  the  Navedachos, 
the  Nagcodoches,  the  Nacogdoches, 
the  Nadocogs,  the  Ahijitos,  the  Ca- 
dogdachos  and  Naflbnis,  all  fpeaking 


32 


La  Sailers  Laji  Voyage, 


^i6i57'  nicrous  and  poliHied ;  it  is  governed  by  a  King  or 
Cacique,  and  the  fubordination  that  we  remarked 
among  them  made  us  infer  that  they  had  officers ; 
the  houfes  are  built  with  order  and  very  prettily,  and 
they  have  the  art  of  malcing  a  cloth  of  feathers  and 
the  hair  of  animals.  We  found  there  filver  lamps, 
old  mufkets  and  Spani(h  fword  blades.  Having 
alked  them  by  figns  where  they  got  them,  they 
took  a  coal  and  depicted  a  Spaniard,  houfes,  fteeples, 
and  fhowed  us  the  part  of  the  heaven  under  which 
New  Mexico  would  lie. 

On  leaving  this  village,  my  brother,  our  nephew 
and  three  foldiers  were  greatly  troubled  by  certain 
ftrange  fruits  of  which  they  had  eaten  too  freely. 
They  all  took  the  fever,  which  did  not  leave  them 
till  two  months  afterward.  My  brother  was  fo 
affedted  and  weakened  by  it  that  we  did  not  dare 
stu^irrWw  It  ^o  procecd,  but  retracing  our  fteps  returned  after 
uuh  Bi"^  S'-  forty  days  to  the  fort  in  St,  Louis  Bay,*s  where  we 


the  fame  language.  Father  Anafta- 
fius  reprefents  the  town  of  the  Senis 
as  extending  for  fome  fixty  miles  in 
"  hamlets  of  ten  or  twelve  cabins, 
"  forming  cantons  each  with  a  dif- 
"ferent  name."  He  probably  in- 
cludes all  the  above  tribes.  "Their 
"  cabins,"  fays  he,  "  are  fine,  forty 
"  or  fifty  feet  high,  of  the  fhape  of 
"  bee  hives.  They  plant  trees  in 
"  the  ground  and  tie  them  together 
"  by  the  upper  branches,  and  cover 
"  it  with  dry  grafs.  The  beds  are 
"  ranged  around  the  cabin,  three  or 
"  four  feet  from  the  ground,  the  fire 


"  is  in  the  middle,  and  each  cabin 
"  holds  two  families." 

as  (Oftobcr,  1686).  This  ex- 
ploration is  here  vaguely  defcribed. 
Father  Anaflafius  details  it  how- 
ever. Mr.  Sparks  fays,  "It  may 
"be  aflumed  as  certain,  that  he 
"crofled  the  three  large  rivers, 
"  Colorado,  Brazos  and  Trinity ; 
"  the  firft  not  many  miles  above  the 
"  prefent  town  of  Montezuma ;  and 
"  the  fecond  as  far  above  the  town 
"  of  Wafliington  .  .  .  The  journey 
"  terminated  beyond  the  Nafibnis, 


I 


'    .  i 


\  i 


1 


Cavelier's  Account. 


33 


were  received  with  all  poflible  joy  by      -  peoplr  ""JSIT' 
and  by  the  Bracamos,  who  came  firA  to  vitit  u^ 
and  brought  us  a  quantity  of  deer. 

The  attempts  which  we  had  made  to  go  to  Ca- 
nada not  having  fucceeded,  we  turned  our  hopes  to 
the  aid  that  the  King  might  fend  us  from  France, 
and  we  patiently  awaited  it  till  the  clofe  of  the  year 
1686  ;  but  at  lad  weary  of  being  deprived  of  the 
fociety  of  our  countrymen,  and  bani(hed  as  it  were 
to  the  uttermofl  parts  of  the  earth,  we  regarded  this 
agreeable  country  only  as  a  tedious  refting  place 
and  a  perpetual  prifon,  feeling  fatiified  that  had  not 
the  King  deenned  us  lofl,  he  would  have  had  the 
goodnefs  to  fend  fome  one  to  continue  the  explora- 
tion which  we  had  undertaken,  or  to  carry  us  back 
to  France.  We  often  made  vague .  conjectures, 
which  ferved  only  to  afHidt  us,  and  at  lafl  when  the 
beginning  of  i686**camc,  my  brother  propofed  to 
make  a  fecond  attempt.  As  all  minds  were  full  of 
the  defire  of  again  beholding  France,  his  eloquence 
was  required  only  to  perfuadc  fome  of  our  people 
to  remain  in  the  fort.  He  portrayed  to  them  the 
hardships  and  dangers  to  be  encountered ;  the  im- 
poffibility  of  fubfifting  if  they  all  went  together  on 
(o  long  a  march,  with  no  refource  but  hunting. 
He  fucceeded  fo  well  that  a  part  determined  to  keep 
the  fort,  and  my  brother  took  only  28*7  of  the  moft 


**  probably  about  midway  between 
"  the  Trinity  and  Red  River,  near 
"the  head  waters  of  the  Sabine, 
"and  fifty  or  sixty  miles  northwell 
"  of  Nacogdoches."  {Life  of  La 
Salle,  ^.  152.) 


»6  (1687). 

27  AnadaAus  fays  twenty :  Jou- 
tel,  feventeen. 


34 


La  SalUs  haft  Voyage. 


'••jJP' vigourous,  among  them  Father  AthanaHus,  our 
nephews  Cavelier  and  Moranget,  my  brother's  god- 
fon,  the  pilot  of  his  vefTel  and  myfelf. 
Second  at-  We  ftarted  on  the  6th  of  January*'  (after  hearing 
J"p^^*J  uS?  ^^^^  *"^  performing  our  devotions,  and  exhorting 
the  people  who  remained  to  watch  the  fafe  keep- 
ing of  the  fort,  promiling  foon  to  return  with  help 
from  France),  and  went  to  fleep  at  the  village  of 
the  Bracamos. 

The  7th  we  made  5  or  6  leagues  progrefs  through 
canes  and  reeds. 

The  8th  we  made  alfo  5  or  6  leagues  in  more 
clear  and  level  country. 

The  9th  we  arrived  at  the  village  of  the  Kou- 
aras,*'  where  we  tarried  two  days.  There  we  faw 
a  party  of  7  or  800  warriors,  who  were  bringing  in 
one  hundred  and  fifty  prifoners  in  triumph ;  we 
faved  fome  who  were  going  to  be  caft  into  the 
water  bound  hand  and  foot. 

The  1 2th  we  croiTed  a  river  on  a  raft  with  much 
ri(k.  The  fear  that  we  had  experienced  was  not 
yet  diflipated  when  all  at  once  a  band  of  Indians, 
rufhing  defperately  on  us,  revived  it  in  a  flill  more 
intenfe  degree;  but  thefe  good  people  far  from 
harming  us,  took  us  to  their  cabins  where  they 
gave  us  feveral  kinds  of  meat  to  eat,  and  offered  us 
pipes  and  tobacco;    while  we  were    engaged  in 


the  Miffijpppi,  p.  211),  mentions 
this  villt  to  the  Quaras,  who  are 
perhaps  the  Xaranames  of  Father 
*9  Father  Anaftafius  {Di/c  of   Morfi. 


3^8  Father  Anaftafius  agrees  with 
Cavelier,  but  foutel  fays  the  i  zth. 


I  I 


Cavelier's  Account. 


35 


fmoking,  they  began  to  fing  and  dance  in  a  very  ''j,'"'''' 
curious  manner.and  ftopped  only  when  we  departed. 
We  made  lix  leagues  tnat  day. 

The  1 5th  we  refumed  our  march,  although  our 
good  and  honed  hunters  made  every  effort  to  keep 
us  at  lead  till  next  day.  They  gave  us  an  efcort 
of  twelve  men  who  accompanied  us  4  leagues  from 
the  village,  and  confided  us  to  other  hunters  who 
treated  us  in  the  fame  manner  as  the  fird  during 
the  two  days  that  we  were  in  company. 

The  1 6th  we  marched  6  or  7  leagues  in  beauti- 
ful prairies,  dudded  with  little  groves  at  intervals, 
and  at  evening  we  encamped  on  the  banks  of  a 
little  dream. 

The  17th  in  the  morning,  when  about  to 
march,  we  perceived  150  Indians,  all  on  horfeback, 
armed  with  lances  tipped  with  (harpened  bone  well 
tied  and  enchafed,  each  of  whom  attacked  a  bull. 
No  fooner  had  they  perceived  us  when  fome  of 
them  left  the  party  and  came  to  welcome  us  after 
difmounting.  They  at  fird  regarded  us  with 
adonifhment  and  after  having  examined  us,  they 
uttered  extraordinary  exclamations.  They  then 
made  us  mount,  the  more  conveniently  to  witnefs 
the  clofe  of  the  bull-fight,  which  feemed  to  us 
the  mod  diverting  thing  imaginable,  and  I  am 
convinced  that  there  is  no  chafe  as  curious  in 
Europe.  When  the  combat  was  ended  by  the 
death  of  feveral  animals,  the  combatants  came 
galloping  to  us  and  giving  many  tokens  of  fur- 
prize  and  joy  at  meeting  us,  they  led  us  away 


\\ 


36 


La  Salle's  Lafl  Voyage. 


^'SmT'  *°  '^^^^  village.  Their  frank  and  cordial  manners 
made  us  follow  them  without  repugnance.  They 
often  uttered  the  word  Kanoutinoay  pointing  to 
themfelves;  this  made  us  fuppofe  that  it  was  the 
name  of  the  nation. 3°  They  took  us  flraight  to 
the  cabin  of  their  great  chief  or  cap^",  where  they 
iird  wafhed  our  heads,  hands  and  feet  with  warm 
water ;  after  which  they  prefented  us  boiled  and 
roaft  meat  to  eat,  and  an  unknown  fifh,  cooked 
whole,  that  was  fix  feet  long,  laid  in  a  difh  of  its 
length.  It  was  of  a  wonderful  tafte  and  we  pre- 
ferred it  to  meat.  They  told  us  by  figns  that  they 
were  abundant  and  came  from  a  didance  afcending 
the  river. 

We  bought  at  this  place  thirty  horfcs,  which 
mounted  us  all  and  carried  our  baggage.  They 
coft  us  thirty  knives,  ten  hatchets,  and  iix  dozen 
needles.  On  the  1 9th  we  crofled  the  river  on  their 
boats  and  our  horfes  fwam  over.  We  made  that 
day  four  or  five  leagues  and  encamped  on  a  fpot 
where  there  was  grafs  to  paflure  our  horfes,  which 
we  tied  to  good  flakes. 

On  the  20th,  about  two  leagues  from  the  fpot 
where  we  had  palTed  the  night,  we  found  quite  a 
well  beaten  path  ;  we  followed  it  becaufe  it  ran  in 
the  diredbion  in  which  we  had  refolved  to  go.  We 
faw  there  four  old  women  and  four  young  girls 
who  pafled  by  us  weeping  and  tearing  their  hair, 

3°  Fadier  Anaflafius  mentions  Maligne  (Colorado),  but  Joutel 
their  viflting  the  Quanoatinno  on  the  merely  fays  that  they  heard  of  the 
river  which  La  Salle  ftyled   the    Canohatinno. 


,  ■/ 


u 


V         *     , 


Cavelier's  Account,  37 

without  having  curiofity  enough  to  look  at  us.  ^'"eg"^' 
This  feemed  to  us  an  ill  omen,  but  we  paid  no  great 
attention  to  it.  The  next  moment  we  faw  a  crowd 
coming  towards  us ;  we  firft  put  ourfelves  in  a  ftate 
of  defence,  prepared  for  all  hazards;  but  thefe  people, 
inftead  of  approaching  us,  fled,  and  we  purfued  our 
way,  and  in  the  evening  reached  a  village  the 
cabins  of  which  were  made  of  canes  interlaced  and 
whitened  with  very  fine  plafter.  The  Indians  in 
alarm  took  flight,  but  feeing  that  we  encamped  ^ 
near  their  village  without  doing  them  any  harm, 
and  that  we  made  them  figns  to  return,  they 
gradually  approached  us,  and  finally  ventured  to 
enter  our  tents  of  grafs  and  branches  of  trees.  We 
made  them  fome  little  prefents.  The  next  day 
they  took  us  to  their  village.  It  feems  to  me  that 
they  faid  they  were  called  Ticapanas.3'  They 
brought  us  one  of  their  number  who  fpoke  Spanifh,  indiansfpeak- 
and  fome  boys  whom  we  had  in  our  party  adting  '"^  ^^*"''''' 
as  interpreters,  we  learned  many  things  from  him 
which  I  will  relate  to  your  Lordfliip  in  the  collec- 
tion of  memoirs  of  my  brother. 

On  the  2 2d  we  continued  our  march,  and  after 
fording  the  river,  led  by  five  Indians,  we  entered  a 
valley  (five  leagues  from  our  ftarting  point)  which, 
though  it  was  mid  winter,  was  full  of  fruit  trees, 
flowers  and  a  prodigious  quantity  of  birds  of  various 
kinds.  We  encamped  there  in  a  favourable  pofi- 
tion  to  pafs  the  night,  while  our  Indians  came  back 


3»   The  Tyakappan  of  Father 

F 


Anadafius. 


t1 


^  \ 


38 


La  Sailers  Lafl  Voyage. 


%7?  from  the  hunt  loaded  with  turkeys.  They  gave 
us  a  long  account  of  this  valley,  but  we  could  not 
underfland  a  word  of  it. 

On  the  23d  they  took  us  to  the  great  village  of  the 
Palomas,3^  which  is  furrounded  by  palifades  of  cane. 
Our  guides  were  there  queftioned  about  us.  We 
inferred  that  they  anfwered  that  we  had  not  the  air 
of  being  Spaniards ;  we  do  not  know  what  they  be- 
lieved, for  they  lodged  us  in  a  great  cabin  outiide  the 
village,  where  they  brought  us  more  than  thirty 
handfome  maidens  of  their  village.  We  pointed 
up  to  heaven,  making  figns  that  it  was  an  execra- 
ble cuftom,  but  not  underAanding  us,  they  thought 
that  we  were  talking  of  the  fun,  for  they  inftantly 
placed  their  hands  on  their  foreheads  and  fell  flat 
on  the  ground  looking  up  to  it,  and  the  young  men 
uttered  fearful  cries,  feeing  that  we  fled  from  the 
perfecution  of  thefe  wantons.  This  nation  feemed 
to  us  more  grofs  and  ill  made  than  the  others. 

On  the  24th  we  left  it  and  wifhed  their  canoes  to 
crofs  a  large  river,  that  ran  at  the  foot  of  their  vil- 
'  lage,  but  they  advifed  us  to  afcend  the  river,  giving 
us  to  underfland  by  figns  that  we  would  infallibly 
be  killed  on  the  other  fide  if  we  crofTed  the  river. 
We  could  not  learn  whether  they  were  beails  or 
men  that  we  had  to  fear.  They  gave  us  a  peri- 
augua  in  which  we  put  20  men  and  the  8  others 
topk  the  horfes  by  land.  After  five  days  failing 
and  marching,  we  faw  fome  Indians  fifhing,  and 
although  there  were  only  feven  or  eight  of  them, 

3*  The  Palonas  of  Father  Anaftaiius.  . 


,       W 


^ 


/ 


Cavelier^s  Account, 


39 


inftcad  of  fleeing  they  ran  up  to  receive  us.  We  ^"^l^* 
recognized  them  as  a  nation  called  Alakea^  among 
whom  we  had  pafled  the  firft  time  we  were  in  the 
nation  of  the  Senis.  They  took  us  to  their  village 
where  we  were  received  with  all  poflible  affedion. 
They  kept  us  among  them  6  days,  and  then  having 
aided  us  to  crofs  the  river  in  little  boats  of  buffalo 
fkins  fcwed  together,  they  took  us  to  the  village  of 
the  Akafquyy  who  knowing  us  by  reputation,  were 
glad  .0  have  us  pafs  by  their  village.  At  this  place 
we  faw  about  fixty  hermaphrodites,  for  the  moft  of  ^ 
them  go  entirely  naked  after  funfet.  We  there 
alfo  faw  them  make  cloth  with  buffalo  wool,  and 
a  ftufF  which  feemed  to  us  the  richefl  in  the  world, 
fo  lingular  was  it,  for  it  is  made  of  birds*  feathers 
and  the  hair  of  animals  of  every  colour. 

On  the  27th  we  ftarted  from  the  Akafquy  to  go 
to  the  Penoy^  where  we  arrived  on  the  29th. 

On  the  30th  we  went  to  fleep  at  the  village  of 
Sajforyy'i'i  where  we  were  received  with  the  fame 
friendfhip  as  in  the  others.  We  remained  there 
one  day,  and  we  had  the  pleafure  of  feeing  an 
alligator,  twelve  feet  long,  captured.  The  Indians 
employed  a  hook  made  of  a  buffalo  bone  tied  to 
the  end  of  a  cord,  fludded  with  fmall  bones  fo  that 
he  cannot  bite  it  through,  and  they  ufe  no  bait  but 


33  The  Alakea  are  apparently 
the  PalaqueflTon  of  Anaftafius  and 
the  Palaquechaunc  of  Joutel.  Nei- 
ther Anaftafius  nor  Joutel  mentions 
the  Pcnoy,  Saflbry.Tipoy  and  Ana- 
mis,  and  Morfi  throws  no  light  on 
any  of  thefc  tribes,  unlefs  the  Saf- 


fory  are  the  Aflbnis.  At  this  point 
Cavalier's  narrative  becomes  irrc- 
concileablc  with  Joutel  and  Father 
Anaftafius.  Joutel,  p.  213,  makes 
them  reach  the  Cenis  after  La  Salle's 
death. 


B8 


\  t 


40 


La  Sailers  haft  Voyage, 


January, 
1687. 


)iece  of  meat  on  the  hook.  The  Indians  who 
wifhed  to  amufe  themfelves  with  it,  put  out  its 
eyes  and  led  it  into  a  prairie,  after  tying  its  head  to 
its  tail,  and  tying  it  around  the  body  with  three 
different  cords  made  of  bark  of  trees  and  paffed 
around  in  flip  knots ;  and  after  tormenting  it  in 
various  ways  for  full  four  hours,  they  turned  it 
belly  up  and  confined  it  from  head  to  tail  by  eight 
flakes,  planted  fo  that  the  animal  could  not  move 
in  any  direcflion.  In  this  condition  they  flayed 
him,  ana  then  gave  him  liberty  to  run,  to  have  the 
pleafure  of  tormenting  him  more.  This  fport 
lafled  all  day,  and  ended  with  the  death  of  this 
frightful  beafl,  which  they  killed  and  gave  to  their 
dogs.  We  faw  many  fkins  of  this  animal  thrown 
about,  which  made  us  infer  that  there  were  many 
in  that  river.  We  crofTed  it  however  by  the  help 
of  the  Indians,  who  having  led  us  to  the  river  bank 
and  yelled  for  half  an  hour  to  frighten  and  drive 
off  thefe  animals,  fwam  over  after  putting  us  in  a 
canoe ;  our  horfes  accuflomed  to  follow  us  every- 
where like  dogs  alfo  fwam  over. 
Feb.  I.  On  the  evening  of  the  ifl  of  February  we 
reached  the  village  of  the  Ttpoyy  where  the  people, 
otherwife  well  made,  have  the  top  of  the  head, 
quite  flat,  caufed  by  the  mothers  putting  on  their 
children's  heads  flat  pieces  of  wood  lined  with  wool, 
which  by  a  gentle  prefTure  give  them  this  fhape. 

On  the  2d,  Candlemas  day,  we  left  this  village 
led  by  a  Tipoy  Indian,  and  on  the  3d  we  reached 
the  village  of  our  good  friends  the  Anamis,  who  had 


a  » 


f 


^MtMc-s^M^iSk^ai.' 


Cavelier's  Account, 


4t 


w 


',  '        • 


G    ^ 


., 


hofpitably  received  us  on  our  previous  cxcurfion.  '*'JJ*7' 
We  had  the  chagrin  to  find  their  village  half  burnt 
down.  They  gave  us  to  underftand  by  ligns  that 
a  hoflile  party  which  furprized  them,  had  fpread 
this  defolation,  and  that  they  would  have  burnt  it 
all,  had  they  not  alarmed  them  by  firing  on  them 
with  two  guns  and  fome  ammunition  that  we  had 
left  them ;  that  never  having  feen  or  heard  of  fuch 
arms,  the  fear  they  infpired  put  them  to  flight. 

On  the  4th  we  fet  out,  and  on  the  8th  we  arrived 
at  the  great  village  of  the  Senis.  This  is  a  nation 
that  occupies  a  territory  eighteen  leagues  long. 
We  were  received  at  the  entrance  of  the  village 
and  conducted  to  a  large  and  beautiful  cabin,  where 
we  were  at  firft  entertained  with  a  right  curious 
fymphony.  The  chiefs  fupped  with  us,  and  we 
repofed  more  tranquilly  there  than  we  had  any 
where  elfe. 

On  the  9th,  after  a  crowd  of  young  men  had 
danced  a  dance  of  joy  in  our  cabin,  we  were  taken 
to  that  of  the  prince,  for  whom  they  have  all  pof- 
fible  veneration,  fubmiflion  and  refpeft ;  for  when 
he  went  abroad  he  was  borne  by  eight  men  on  a 
platform,  all  the  tribe  ranged  in  two  lines,  both 
hands  on  the  forehead,  uttering  a  cry  of  joy  or 
humility ;  if  he  went  on  foot,  very  clean  mats  were 
fpread  wherever  he  was  to  pafs. 

We  left  this  village  for  fear  that  our  loldiers 
fhould  tamper  with  the  women,  and  went  to  en- 
camp about  two  leagues  off,  intending  to  flay  to 
refl  and  recruit.     The  people  of  the  country  made 


i 


■  s.i- ;. 


42  La  Sailers  Loft  Voyage, 

''iMt?'  us  fufficicntly  cxadt  maps  of  the  neighbouring  rivers 
and  nations.  They  told  us  that  they  knew  the 
Spaniards,  and  depi^ed  to  us  their  clothing  and 
ihowed  us  candleflicks,  fwords,  bucklers,  daggers 
and  Spanilh  papers.  We  are  convinced  that' they 
are  not  far  off,  the  more  fo  as  the  Senis  have  a 
number  of  fine  horfes. 

On  the  1 6th  we  left  this  great  village  for  a 
fmaller  one  of  the  fame  nation,  20  1.  off.  Thirty 
well  mounted  young  warriors  took  us  by  as  well 
beaten  a  road  as  that  from  Paris  to  Orleans.  At 
intervals  we  came  to  little  forts  in  the  moft  expofed 
pofitions,  and  every  where  a  moft  level  country 
extremely  well  adapted  to  pafturage.'* 


34  Cavalier's  narrative  here  ends 
abruptly.  His  brother's  death  oc- 
curred foon  after,  and  wc  unfortu- 
nately have  not  his  account  of  it. 
With  Joutel  and  Father  Anadafius 
he  reached  Canada  and  proceeded 
to  France.  Thofe  left  in  Texas 
perilhed  by  the  hands  of  the  Caran- 


cagues.  The  cannon  of  the  fort 
long  remained  the  only  monument 
of  La  Salle  'n  Texas.  Ufed  againft 
Indian,  Mexican,  Spaniard  and 
American,  they  were  dill  at  Goliad, 
in  1 838.—  Yoakum's  Hift.  of  Texas, 
i,  22. 


!  J 


■If 


f  . 


II. 

VOYAGE  DOWN  THE  xMISSISSlPPI 

I N    I  6  9  9 . 

BV   THE    REV.    MESSRS. 

MONTIGNY,   ST.    COSME,  DAVION   AND 
THAUMUR  DE  LA  SOURCE. 


!     / 


*. 


LETTER 
J.  F.  BUISSON  St.  COSME, 

MISSIONARY   PRIEST, 

TO    THE    BISHOP    [OF    QUEBEC]. 

Monfeigneur  : 

HE  lafl  that  I  had  the  honour  to 
write  to  you  was  from  Michilli- 
makinac,  whence  we  fet  out  on  the 
14th  of  September,  and  went  by 
land  to  overtake  our  canoes,  which 
had  gone  round  Pointe  aux  Irro- 
quois,  and  fo  on  to  the  Outduaois  village  to  wait  for 
us.     This  village  is  of  about  300  men.     Would  to 


I  John  Francis  Buisson  de  St. 
CosME.  This  clergyman,  whofc  in- 
tercfting  letter  follows,  was  a  native 
of  Quebec,  and  a  zealous  miflion- 
ary,  who  never  abandoned  the  labor 
on  which  he  entered  till  he  fank 
under  the  murderous  blows  of  the 
favage.  He  was  a  fon  of  Michael 
Buiflon  or  ByflTon,  a  native  of  St. 

G 


Cofme  le  Vert  in  the  diocefe  of 
Mans,  and  of  Suzanne  de  Licerafle, 
and  was  born  at  Pointe  Levis,  Janu- 
ary 30,  1667.  Devoting  himfelf 
to  the  fervice  of  the  altar,  he  was 
tonfured  Auguft  22,  1688,  when  a 
little  over  twenty-one,  and  ordained 
pricft  on  Candlemas  day,  1690. 
He  was  not  the  only  prieft  in  Ws 


4« 


St,  Cofme's  Voyage 


God  that  they  refponded  to  the  care  and  labour 
which  the  Reverend  Jefuit  Fathers  beftow  on  their 
inftrudtion,  but  they  feem  lefs  advanced  in  Chrift- 
ianity  than  the  Illinois,  who  have  only  recently, 
they  fay,  had  mifHonaries. 

We  left  this  village,  Sept.  15th,  eight  canoes, 

four  for  the  River  of  the  Miamis,  with  the  Sieur 

de  Vincennes,*  and  we   three   canoes,   and  Mr. 

/  Tonty,3  who  as  I  have  already  told  you  in  my  laft, 


family,  his  brother  Michael  chofe 
the  fame  life,  and  after  fpcnding 
fome  time  at  Tamarois  before  his 
ordination,  returned  to  Canada  and 
died  Cure  of  Sainte  Foy,  February 
18th.  1 71 2,  in  the  I5tli  year  of  his 
priedhood,  preceding  by  lefs  than  a 
month  their  couHn  John  Francis 
Buiflbn  (a  fon  of  Gcrvafe,  their 
father's  brother),  who  died  on  the 
15th  March,  171 2,  in  the  29th 
year  of  his  priefthood,  and  being  at 
his  death  one  of  the  canons  of  the 
church  of  Quebec.  The  author  of 
this  narrative  details  the  commence- 
ment of  their  labors  on  the  Miflif- 
fippi.  He  was  llationed  firlt  at 
Tamarois,  but  removed  very  foon  to 
the  Natchez,  among  whom  he  labor- 
ed earnedly  till  he  was  mailacred  by 
a  party  of  Sitimaches  while  dcfcend- 
ingthe  Miiliflippi  in  1707. 

1  This  is  the  earlied  notice  of 
Mr.  de  Vincennes.  This  officer, 
whofe  death  in  the  Chickafaw  war 
has  rendered  his  name  famous,  and 
whofe  memory  is  preferved  by  a 
wellern  city,  was  apparently  a  ne- 
phew of  Louis  Jolliet,  the  explorer 


of  the  Miffiflippi.  His  famii/ 
name  was  BifTot,  Vincennes  being 
merely  the  name  of  a  Scigncurie  in 
Canada  acquired  by  one  of  his  an- 
cedors.  He  was  commander  among 
the  Miamis  in  1698,  as  this  journal 
fliow3,and  though  he  w?s  near  lofing 
his  military  rank  aiid  pofition  in 
1 704,  he  was  too  ufeful  to  be  re- 
moved. Jn  1730  he  led  the  Mia- 
mis in  D'Artaguette's  expedition, 
and  with  du  Tifne,  Lalande  and 
Father  Senat  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Chickafaws  and  was  put  to 
death.  Vincennes  was  not  appa- 
parently  founded  by  him,  but  may 
have  been  a  port  or  refidence  of  his, 
fo  that  the  town  that  arofe  took  his 
name.  !  ' 

3  Henri  de  Tonty,  fon  of  the 
founder  of  Tontines,  was  a  Neapo- 
litan, who  with  his  father  having 
been  concerned  in  a  confpiracy 
againft  the  Spanifh  power,  retired 
to  France.  He  loft  an  arm  in  the 
fervice,  and  was  recommended  to 
La  Salle  by  the  Prince  de  Conde. 
He  is  one  of  the  noble  figures  in 
the  hiftory  of  the  weft.     As  Lieu- 


,. 


/ 


Down  the  Mijffijftppi,  47 

had  come  to  the  refolution  to  accompany  us  as  far 
as  the  Akanfcas.  I  cannot,  Monfeigneur,  cxprefs 
our  obligations  to  him ;  he  guided  us  as  far  as  the 
Akanfcas  and  gave  us  much  pleafure  on  the  way. 
He  facilitated  our  courfe  through  feveral  nations, 
winning  us  the  friendship  of  fome  and  intimidating 
thofe  who  from  jealoufy  or  a  defire  of  plunder  had 
wifhed  to  oppofe  our  voyage  ;  he  has  not  only  done 
the  duty  of  a  brave  man,  but  alfo  difcharged  the 
fundtions  of  a  zealous  miflionary.  He  quieted  the 
minds  of  our  employees  in  the  little  vagaries  that 
they  might  have ;  he  fupported  us  by  his  example 
in  the  exercifes  of  devotion  which  the  voyage  per- 
mitted us  to  perform,  very  often  approaching  the 
facraments. 

It  would  be  ufelefs,  Monfeigneur,  to  give  you  a 
defcription  of  Lake  Miefitgan,*  on  which  we  em- 
barked, leaving  the  fort  of  the  OutouaouaSjS  it  is  a 
courfe  well  enough  known.  We  would  have  taken 
the  fouth  fide,  which  is  much    the   fhorteft  and 


tenant  of  La  Salic  he  dircdled  affairs 
in  Illinois  with  confummate  ikill, 
and  going  to  meet  La  Salle  he  made 
the  fecond  voyage  to  the  mouth  of 
thcMiffiflippi.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  Detroit,  and  his  re- 
moval from  the  command  of  the 
poll  to  give  place  to  the  inexperi- 
enced deBourgmont  plunged  the  poft 
in  a  war.  When  Iberville  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Miflifllppi,  and 
fettlements  were  begun,  Tonty  went 
down,  and  rendered  fignal  fervice 
till  he   funk  a  viflim   to  a  deadly 


epidemical  fever  in  Auguft,  1 704,  at 
Mobile. 

4  Michigan. 

5  The  Ottawas  or  Short  Ears, 
ftill  cxift.  They  form  a  village  on 
the  weft  fide  of  the  lower  peninfula 
of  Michigan,  where  Catholic  Mif- 
fionaries  ftiil  attend  them.  Their 
language  is  Algonquin,  and  their 
dialcdl  approaches  very  nearly  that 
of  the  Chippewas. 


'V 


*»»-■ 


48 


St,  Co/me*s  Voyage 


finer  than  the  north,  but  as  it  is  the  path  of  the 
Irriquois,  and  as  they  not  long  iince  furprized  fome 
foldiers  and  Indians  who  were  going  to  the  Miamis, 
this  obliged  us  to  take  the  north  tide,  which  is  not 
fo  agreeable  nor  abundant  in  game,  but  eafier 
withal  as  I  think,  becaufe  you  arc  there  (hielded 
from  the  north  and  eaft  winds. 

On  the  1 8th  of  the  month  we  arrived  off  the 
Bay  of  the  Puants,*  forty  leagues  diftant  from 
Michilimakinac ;  we  cabined  in  an  ide  of  the  de- 
tour, [fo  called]  becaufe  there  the  Lake  begins  to 
turn  foutherly.  We  were  detained  on  this  ifland 
fix  days,  during  which  our  people  employed  their 
time  in  fetting  nets ;  they  took  a  great  quantity  of 
white  fifh,  which  is  a  very  fine  fifh,  and  a  manna, 
which  is  fcarcely  ever  wanting  along  this  lake, 
where  meat  is  almofi:  always  out  of  reach. 

On  the  2oth  we  crofled  the  Bay  of  th**  Puants 
[which  is]  about  ten  leagues  broad.  You  crofs 
from  ifle  to  ifle.  The  Bay  of  the  Puants  is  about 
twenty  or  thirty  leagues  long.  On  the  right,  as 
you  enter,  you  find  another  fmall  bay  called  [the 
Bay]  of  the  Noquets.  The  Bay  of  the  Puants  is 
inhabited  by  feveral  Indian  nations,  the  Noquets,^ 
Folles  Avoines'  [Wild  Rice],  Foxes,  and  the  Pout- 


6  Green  Bay.  Lcs  Puans  were  the 
Winnebagoes.  The  Jefuit  Relations, 
where  the  name  firft  appears,  ex- 
plain that  the  Algonquin  word  Oue- 
nibegouc,  tranflatcd  Puans,  meant 
really  men  from  the  ("alt  water. 
They  call  themfelvcs  Otchagras. 


7  Thcfc  Indians  left  their  name 
to  fome  iflands  in  Green  Bay,  but 
they  figure  very  little  in  hiftoiy. 

8  The  Folles  Avoines  were  the 
Menomonees,  whofe  language  is  the 
moft  corrupt  of  all  the  Algonquin 
dialects 


\       *    / 


4 


T 

I 


Down  the  Mifftjftppi.  49 

ouatami  and  the  Sale.'  The  Jt^uit  Fathers  have  a 
miflion  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  We  much  wifhed 
to  pals  by  the  head  of  this  bay,  and  it  would  have 
been  much  our  fhorteft  [r'^-te].  You  afcend  a 
little  river  (where  there  are  only  three  leagues  of 
rapids)  about  fixty  leagues  long ;  you  thc^  make  a 
portage  which  is  not  long,'°  and  fall  into  the  river 
of  Wefkonfin,  which  is  very  fine,  and  which  you 
are  only  two  days  in  defcending  to  reach  the  Mi- 
ciffippi.  It  is  indeed  200  leagues  from  the  point 
where  this  river  empties  into  the  Miciflippi  to 
that  where  the  river  of  the  Illinois"  difcharges  into 
the  fame  M  icilfippi,  but  the  current  is  fo  ftrong 
that  this  diftance  is  foon  made;  but  the  Foxes 
[who]  are  on  this  little  river  that  you  afcend  on 
leaving  the  Bay  to  reach  the  Wefkonfin  will  not 
fufFer  any  perfon  [to  pafs]  for  fear  they  will  go  to 
places  at  war  with  them,  and  hence  they  have 
already  plundered  feveral  Frenchmen,  who  wiflied 
to  go  by  that  road.  This  obliged  us  to  take  the 
Chikagu  road. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  we  arrived  at  the 
village  of  the  Poux'*  about  twenty  leagues'  diftance 
from  the  Traverfe  of  the  Bay.  There  was  formerly 
a  very  fine  village  there,  but  fince  the  chief's  death 


9  The  Pottowatamies,  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  are  ftill  fubfifcing  tribes  of 
the  fame  Algonquin  family. 

»o  See  this  portage  more  fully 
defcribed  in  Guignas's  letter,  poj}. 

"  The  Illinois  nation  was  made 
up  of  the  Pcorias,  Tamarois,  Caho* 


kias,  Kafkaikias,  Moingonas,  and  an 
adopted  tribe,  the  Metchigameas,  all 
of  whom  are  frequently  mentioned 
here. 

jaPoux  isnot  the  plural  of  the 
French  word  pou,  as  fome  fuppofe, 
but  a  contradlion  of  Pouteouatami. 


50  St.  Co/me's  Voyage 

a  part  of  the  Indians  have  gone  and  fettled  in  the 
Bay,  and  the  reft  were  ready  to  go  there  too  when 
we  pafTed.     We  remained  in  this  village 

The  30th  we  fet  out,  and  on  the  4th  of  Odtober 
we  came  to  another  fmall  village  of  Poux  on  a 
little  river  where  Rev.  Father  Marais'3  had  win- 
tered with  fome  Frenchmen  and  planted  a  crofs. 
We  fpent  the  reft  of  the  day  there. 

On  the  5th  we  fet  out,  and  after  being  detained 
two  days  by  high  winds,  we  arrived  on  the  7th  at 
Melwarik.'*  This  is  a  river  where  there  is  a  vil- 
lage which  has  been  conliderable,  and  inhabited  by 
the  Motar(ftins'5  and  Foxes,  and  even  fome  Poux. 
We  remained  there  two  days,  partly  on  account  of 
the  wind  and  partly  to  refresh  our  people  a  little, 
as  duck  and  teal  (hooting  was  very  plenty  on  the 
river. 

On  the  I  oth  of  Odtober,  having  left  Meliwarik 
early  in  the  morning,  we  arrived  in  good  feafon  at 
Kipikawi,'^  which  is  about  eight  leagues  from  it. 
There  we  parted  with  Mr.  de  Vincennes's  party, 
who  continued  their  courfe  towards  the  Miamis. 
Some  Indians  had  led  us  to  fuppofe  that  we  might 


» 3  Apparently  the  Rev.  Jofepli  J. 
Mared,  of  the  Society  of  Jcfus,  long 
a  miflionary  in  the  well,  certainly 
from  1689  to  171 1,  though  it  may 
be  his  brother  Gabriel,  who  was  on 
the  Illinois  miflion  in  1700. 

'4  Milwaukee,  written  on  fome 
early  maps  Melloki  and  Mclleoki. 
For  Latinizing  this  lad  form  has  ad- 
vantages. 


1 S  If  they  were  ever  a  diftinft  na- 
tion, thcfe  Mafcoutens  have  now 
merged  in  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  Kika- 
poos. 

1 6 1  do  not  find  this  name  of  Kipi- 
kawi  or  Kipikulkwi  elfewhere.  The 
river  is  evidently  that  emptying  into 
the  Lake  at  Racine,  and  this  route 
was  up  the  Root  River  and  then  by  a 
portage  acrofs  to  the  Fox,  or  Piflx- 


1. 


^ 


Down  the  Mifftfftppi.  51 

afcend  by  this  river,  and  that  after  making  a  portage 
of  about  nine  leagues,  we  could  defcend  by  another 
river  called  Piftrui,'^  which  empties  into  the  River 
of  the  Illinois  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  leagues 
from  Chikagu.'^  We  avoided  this  river,  which  is 
about  twenty  leagues  in  length  up  to  the  portage. 
It  pafles  through  quite  pleafant  prairies,  but  as 
there  was  no  water  in  it,  we  judged  fagely  too  that 
there  would  not  be  in  the  Beftikwi,'^  and  that  in- 
ftead  of  fhortening  our  way,  we  fhould  have  had 
to  make  nearly  forty  leagues  of  the  way  as  a  port- 
age.    This  obliged  us  to  take  the  route  of  Chicagu, 


taka  (Beftilcwi)  river,  which  they 
dcfcended  to  the  Illinois.  The 
names  in  this  memoir  have  fufFcred 
greatly  in  tranfcription,  and  the 
copyift  fcems  to  have  been  efpecially 
bothered  by  the  8,  which  he  re- 
places by  vv  or  ,v,  and  fometimes 
by  r  and  k.  As  a  vowel  it  corre- 
fponds  to  the  Englilh  oo  (French  ou) 
as  a  confonant  to  w. 

•  7joutelon  his  map  gives  the 
name  of  Pctefcouy  to  this  river,  and 
Charlevoix  {Hiji.  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  vol.  in,  p.  380)  mentions 
it  as  the  Pifticoui ;  it  is  now  called 
the  Fox  or  Piftuaka  or  Piltakee,  and 
a  lake  on  its  courfe  is  alfo  ftill  called 
Piftakec. 

•  8  The  party  made  their  way  to 
Chicago,  where  they  found  a  Jefuit 
Miami  million.  The  miflion  of  St. 
Jofeph's  has  been  ufually  fuppofcd 
to  have  been  on  the  St.  Jolcph's 
river  from  the  firft.     Chicago  was 


from  a  very  early  date  a  place  of 
importance,  as  one  of  the  routes  to 
the  Mifliffippi.  Perrot  is  faid  to  have 
vifiteditin  1671,  but  this  is  only  an 
inference  of  Charlevoix,  not  borne 
out  by  the  manufcript  of  Perrot,  to 
which  he  refers.  Marquette  and 
Joliet  pafled  by  it  on  their  return 
from  their  exploration  of  the  Miflil^ 
fippi.  Marquette  pafled  a  winter 
there  fubfcquently.  Allouez  took 
the  fame  route  in  1677.  La  Salle 
on  his  fecond  journey  to  the  Illinois 
went  by  the  way  of  Chicago, 
Joutcl  and  Cavelier,  the  author 
of  the  preceding  Journal,  were  at 
Chicago  ill  1687-8,  and  LaHontan 
the  next  year  came  back  from  the 
Mifllflippi  by  the  fame  route.  After 
the  prefent  author  Charlevoix  de- 
fcribes  the  line  of  travel  by  Chicago, 
and  the  portage  is  called  Portage 
aux  Chcnes.  On  Dc  1'  Ifle's  map 
ofLouifiana  (circa  171 7)  the  Def- 
plaines  is  called  the  Chicago. 


52  St,  Cofme's  Voyage 

which  is  about  twenty-five  leagues  from  it.     We 
remained  five  days  at  Kipikufkwi. 

We  left  it  on  the  1 7th,  and  after  having  been 
detained  by  wind  the  i8th  and  19th,  we  cabined 
on  the  20th  five  leagues  from  the  Chicaqw.  We 
fhould  have  reached  it  early  on  the  21ft,  but  the 
wind,  which  fuddenly  fprung  up  from  the  lake, 
obliged  us  to  land  half  a  league  from  Apkaw.''  We 
had  confiderable  difficulty  in  getting  afhore  and 
faving  our  canoes.  We  had  to  throw  everything 
into  the  water.  This  is  a  thing  which  you  muft 
take  good  care  of  along  the  lakes,  and  efpecially  on 
[Lake]  Miffigan,  (the  fhores  of  which  are  very  flat) 
to  land  foon  when  the  water  fwelis  from  the  lake, 
for  the  breakers  get  fo  large  in  a  fhort  time  that 
the  canoes  are  in  rifk  of  going  to  pieces  and 
lofing  all  on  board;  feveral  travellers  have  already 
been  wrecked  there.  We  went  by  land,  Mr.  de 
Montigny,*°  Davion  and  mylelf,  to  the   houfe  of 


'9 This,  name  is  inexplicable. 
They  certainly  ftopped  at  Chicago, 
and  the  name  may  have  been  a 
tranfcriber's  blunder  for  cettc  place, 
that  place. 

aoRev.  Francis  Jolliet  de  Mon- 
TiGNY,  the  leader  of  the  party 
whofe  journey  is  here  deforibed, 
was  born  at  Paris,  but  ordained  at 
Quebec,  March  8,  1693.  After 
being  Cure  of  St.  Ange  Gardien  and 
Director  of  the  Urfulines,  he  fet  out 
to  found  a  miffion  of  the  Seminary 
of  Quebec  on  the  Mifliffippi.  He 
bore  the  appointment  of  Vicar 
General  of  the  Bifliop  of  Quebec, 
gnd  was  attended,  as  we  here  fee^ 


by  Mcflrs  Davion  and  St,  Cofme. 
The  outfit  of  this  milTion  is  faid  to 
have  coft  10,810  livres.  They 
founded  a  miffion  at  Tamarois,  of 
which  the  Jefuits  complained,  and 
after  confiderable  altercation  Mr, 
de  Montigny  in  1700  retired,  and 
going  to  France  rcfufed  to  return  to 
America.  He  was  then  fent  to 
China  where  he  labored  with  great 
zeal,  and  becoming  Secretary  to 
Cardinal  de  Touriion  fhared  his 
exile  and  attended  him  on  his  death 
bed  in  prifon  at  Macao.  Mr.  dc 
Montigny  then  returned  to  Paris 
a.d  there  became  Direftor  of  the 
Foreign  Miffions,  and  died  in  1725 
at  the  age  of  64. 


'    .1 


., 


r 


Down  the  MiJftJ/tppi.  53 

the  Reverend  Jefuit  Fathers,  our  people  (laying  with 
the  baggage.  We  found  there  Rev.  Father  Pinet*' 
and  Rev.  Father  Buinateau,**  who  had  recently 
come  in  from  the  Illinois  and  were  flightly  fick. 

I  cannot  explain  to  you,  Monfeigneur,  with 
what  cordiality  and  marks  of  efteem  thefe  reverend 
Jefuit  Fathers  received  and  carefTed  us  during  the 
time  that  we  had  the  confolation  of  flaying  with 
them.  Their  houfe  is  built  on  the  banks  of  the 
fmall  lake,  having  the  lake  on  one  fide  and  a  fine 
large  prairie  on  the  other.  The  Indian  village  is 
of  over  150  cabins,  and  one  league  on  the  river 
there  is  another  village  almofl  as  large.  They  are 
both  of  the  Miamis.  Rev.  Father  Pinet  makes  it 
his  ordinary  refidence  except  in  winter,  when  the 
Indians  all  go  hunting,  and  which  he  goes  and 
fpends  at  the  Illinois.  We  faw  no  Indians  there, 
they  had  already  flarted  for  their  hunt.  If  we  may 
judge  of  the  future  by  the  little  while  that  Father 
Pinet  has  been  on  this  miflion,  we  may  fay  that 
God  bleffes  the  labors  and  zeal  of  this  holy  miflion- 
ary.  There  will  be  a  great  number  of  good  and 
fervent  Chriflians  there.  It  is  true  that  little  fruit 
is  produced  there  in  thofe  who  have  grown  up  and 
hardened  in  debauchery,  but  the  children  are  bap- 
tized and  even  the  medicine  men,  mofl  oppofed  to 


a  I  Father  Francis  Pinet  was  the 
founder  of  the  Tamarois  miffion  and 
died  there  about  1704. 

aa  Father  Julian  BiNNETEAUwas 

H 


a  miflionary  in  Maine  in  1693,  and 
died  of  a  fever  brought  on  by  his 
labors  foon  after  this  vifit  of  St. 
Cofme,  as  Father  Gravier  in  1 700 
does  not  refer  to  him, 


■MMMa 


■MiMiMMa^telWiM^tMlHMilli^^U-'' 


54  S^'  Cofme^s  Voyage 

Chriftianity,  allow  their  children  to  be  baptized. 
They  are  even  very  glad  to  have  them  inftrudted. 
Many  girls  already  grown  up  and  many  young 
boys  are  being  inftruSed,  fo  that  it  may  be  hoped 
that  when  the  old  flock  dies  off  there  will  be  a 
new  Chriftian  people. 

On  the  24th  of  Odlober,  the  wind  having 
fallen,  we  made  our  canoes  come  with  all  our  bag- 
gage, and  perceiving  that  the  waters  were  extremely 
low  we  made  a  cache  on  the  (hore  and  took  only 
what  was  abfolutely  neceflary  for  our  voyage,  re- 
fcrving  till  fpring  to  fend  for  the  reft,  and  we  left 
in  charge  of  it  Brother  Alexander,  who  confented 
to  remain  there  with  Father  Pinet's  man,  and  we 
ftarted  from  Chicaqw  on  the  29th  and  put  up  for 
the  night  about  two  leagues  off,  in  the  little  river 
which  is  then  loft  in  the  prairies.  The  next  day 
we  began  the  portage,  which  is  about  three  leagues 
long  when  the  water  is  low,  and  only  a  quarter  of 
a  league  in  the  fpring,  for  you  embark  on  a  little 
lake  that  empties  into  a  branch  of  the  river  of  the 
Illinois,^^  and  when  the  waters  are  low  you  have 
to  make  a  portage  to  that  branch.  We  made  half 
our  portage  that  day,  and  we  ftiould  have  made 
fome  progrefs  further,  when  we  perceived  that  a 
little  boy  whom  we  had  receivedfromMr.de  Muys,-* 


*3  Mud  Lake,  which  empties  into 
the  Dcfplaines,  and  called  by  the 
voyageurs  Le  petit  Lac.  Sec  note, 
p.  51. 

*4  M.  DE  MuYs.  An  officer  of 
this  name  figures  feveral  times  in  the 


French  reports  of  the  weft  (O'Cal- 
laghan's  New  York  Col.  Doc,  ix  ), 
and  is  apparently  the  one  appointed 
Governor  of  Louifiana  in  1 707  ;  a 
Lieutenant  of  the  fame  name  was  at 
Fort  LcBoeuf  in  Oftobcr,  1753. 


Damn  the  Mijftjftppi,  55 

having  flarted  on  alone,  although  he  had  been  told 
to  wait,  had  got  loft  without  any  one  paying  atten- 
tion to  it,  all  hands  being  engaged.  We  were 
obliged  to  ftop  and  look  for  him.  All  fet  out,  we 
fired  feveral  guns,  but  could  not  find  him.  It  was 
a  very  unfortunate  mifhap,  we  were  prefTed  by  the 
feafon  and  the  waters  being  very  low,  we  faw  well 
that  being  obliged  to  carry  our  efFedts  and  our  canoe 
it  would  take  us  a  great  while  to  reach  the  Illinois. 
This  made  us  part  company,  Mr.  de  Montigny, 
de  Tonty  and  Davion,*5  continued  the  portage 
next  day,  and  I  with  four  other  men  returned  to 
look  for  this  little  boy,  and  on  my  way  back  I  met 
Fathers  Pinet  and  Buinateau  who  were  going  with 
two  Frenchmen  and  one  Indian  to  the  Illinois. 
We  looked  for  him  again  all  that  day  without  be- 
ing able  to  find  him.  As  next  day  was  the  feaft 
of  All  Saints  this  obliged  me 'to  go  and  pafs  the 
night  at  Chikagou  with  our  people,  who  having 
heard  mafs  and  performed  their  devotions  early, 
we  fpent  all  that  day  too  in  looking  for  that  little 
boy  without  being  able  to  get  the  leail  trace.  It 
was  very  difficult  to  find  him  in  the  tall  grafs,  for 
the  whole  country  is  prairies ;  you  meet  only  fome 
clumps  of  woods.     As  the  grafs  was  high  we  durft 


*S  Rev.  Anthony  Davion  began 
a  miflion  among  the  Tonicas,  but 
labored  almoft  in  vain.  On  the 
murder  of  Rev.  Mr.  Foucault  he 
retired  to  Mobile,  but  returned  to 
his  poll  in  1704,  and  remained  for 
over  twelve  years,   till  in  faft  the 


incorrigible  tribe  drove  him  out. 
He  retired  to  New  Orleans  about 
1722,  and  died  in  France  about 
1727.  He  is  faid  to  have  been  a 
native  of  Normandy  and  to  have 
arrived  at  Quebec  in  1690. 


56 


St,  Cofme's  Voyage 


not  fet  fire  to  it  for  fear  of  burning  him.  Mr.  de 
Montigny  had  told  me  not  to  flay  over  a  day,  be- 
caufe  the  cold  was  becoming  fevere ;  this  obliged 
me  to  flart  after  giving  Brother  Alexander  direc- 
tions to  look  for  him  and  to  take  fome  of  the  French 
who  were  at  Chicagb. 

I  fet  out  the  fecond  of  November  in  the  after- 
noon, made  the  portage,  and  flept  at  the  river  of  the 
Illinois  :*^  we  went  down  the  river  to  an  ifland. 
During  the  night  we  were  furprized  to  fee  an  inch 
of  fnow  and  the  next  day  the  river  frozen  in  feveral 
places,  yet  we  had  to  break  the  ice  and  drag  the 
canoe,  becaufe  there  was  no  water ;  this  forced  us 
to  leave  our  canoe  and  go  in  fearch  of  Mr.  de 
Montigny,  whom  we  overtook  next  day,  the  5th  of 
the  month,  at  Stag  IHand  (Ifle  aux  Cerfs).  They 
had  already  made  two  leagues  portage,  and  there 
were  flill  four  to  make  to  Monjolly,  which  we 
made  in  three  days  and  arrived  on  the  8th  of  the 
month.     From  Ifle  a  la  Cache  to  Monjolly*^  is  the 

a6  This  is  probably  a  midakc  of 
the  copyift. 


a?  This  is  the  "well  known  mound 
"  at  Jolict,  now  called  Mount  Jolict, 
"  once  fuppofed  to  be  a  work  of  art, 
"  but  now  generally  conceded  to  be 
'•  a  natural  formation.  The  matc- 
"  rials  for  paving  ufcd  in  Chicago 
"are  obtained  from  that  fourcc." 
Letter  of  William  Barry,  Efq. 
Mount  Joliet  may  be  a  miilake  for 
Monjolly,  and  Monjolly  not  a  cor- 
ruption.    There  is  a  Mont  Joly  in 


France,  which  took  its  name  from 
the  following  circumllancc : 

"  Madcmoifclle  Joly,  a  French 
"  aftrcfs  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
"  eighteenth  century,  having  paflcd 
"  fome  agreeable  hours  on  a  hill  near 
"Falaifc,  called  La  Roche-Saint- 
"  Quentin,  left  direftions  in  her  will 
"that  her  remains  'fliould  be  carried 
"  to  this  folitary  hill,  which  was  fo 
"  dear  to  her  heart.'  Her  wiihes 
"  were  obeyed,  and  the  hill  has  ever 
"  fince  been  called  Mont-Joly." 

An  Indian  legend  as  to  this  mound 
is  given  a  few  lines  lower  down. 


.: 


Down  the  Mijftfftppi,  57 

fpace  of  feven  leagues.  You  muft  always  make  a 
portage,  there  being  no  water  in  the  river  except  in 
the  fpring.  All  along  this  river  is  very  agreeable. 
It  is  prairies  ikirted  by  hills  and  very  fine  woods, 
where  there  are  numbers  of  deer  as  well  as  on  the 
river.  There  is  abundance  of  game  of  all  kinds,  fo 
that  one  of  our  men  drolling  around  after  making 
the  portage,  killed  enough  to  give  us  a  plentiful 
fupper  and  bi.  Laft  next  morning.  Monjolly  is 
a  mound  of  earth  in  the  prairie,  on  the  right  as 
you  go  down,  (lightly  elevated,  about  thirty  feet. 
The  Indians  fay  that  at  the  time  of  a  great  deluge 
one  of  their  ancedors  efcaped,  and  that  this  little 
mountain  is  his  canoe  which  he  turned  over  there. 
On  leaving  Monjolly  we  made  about  two  leagues 
to  another  little  portage  of  about  a  quarter  of  a 
league.  As  one  of  our  men,  named  Charbonneau, 
had  killed  feveral  turkeys  and  geefe  in  the  morning 
and  a  deer,  we  did  well  to  give  fomewhat  of  a  treat 
to  our  people  and  let  them  reft  for  a  day. 

On  the  loth  we  made  the  little  portage  and 
found  half  a  league  of  water,  and  then  two  men 
towed  the  canoe  for  a  league ;  the  reft  marched  on 
land,  each  with  his  pack,  and  we  embarked  for  the 
fpace  of  a  league  and  a  half  and  ftopped  for  the 
night  at  a  little  portage,  five  or  fix  arpens*'  off: 

On  the  nth,  after  making  the  little  portage,  we 
came  to  the  river  Tealike,*^  which  is  the  real  river 

a8  The  arpent  is  about  zoo    feet.    Canadians,   as  Charlevoix  tells  us 
29  The  Kankakee,  called  by  die    (vo'-  "'»  P-  37o)>  corrupted  to  Kia- 
Indians  Theakiki,  a  name  which  the    ''iki,  whence  Kankakee. 


S8 


St.  Co/me's  Voyage 


Qii  the  Illinois  ;  that  which  we  had  defcended  be- 
ing only  a  branch.  We  put  all  our  affairs  in  the 
canoe,  which  two  men  towed,  while  Mr.  de 
Tonty  and  we  with  the  reft  of  our  men  marched 
on  land,  always  through  beautiful  prairies.  We 
arrived  at  the  village  of  the    Peanzichias  Miamis 

who  formerly  dwelt  on  the of  the  Mifliffippi 

and  who  fome  years  fince  came  and  fettled  in  this 
place.  There  was  no  one  in  the  village,  all  having 
gone  out  hunting.  We  went  that  day  to  halt  near 
Maffacre,  which  is  a  little  river  that  empties  into  the 
river  of  the  Illinois.*'  It  was  from  this  day  that  we 
began  to  have  buffalo,  and  the  next  day  two  of  our 
men  killed  four,  but  as  thefe  animals  are  lean  at  this 
feafon,  they  contented  themfelves  with  taking  the 
tongues.  Thefe  cattle  feem  to  me  larger  than  ours ; 
they  have  a  hump  on  the  back,  the  legs  are  very 
fhort,  the  head  very  large  and  fo  covered  with  long 
hair,  that  it  is  faid  a  ball  cannot  penetrate  it.  We 
afterwards  faw  them  almoft  every  day  during  our 
voyage  to  the  Akanfeas. 

After  having  had  to  carry  our  baggage  for  three 
days,  and  put  it  all  together  in  the  canoe,  the  river 
being  low  and  full  of  rocks,  we  arrived  on  the 
1 5th  of  November  at  the  place  called  the  Old  Fort. 
It  is  a  rock  which  is  on  the  bank  of  the  river  about 
a  hundred  feet  high,  where  Mr.  de  la  Salle  built  a 


19  The  Iroquois  River,  Charlevoix 
tells  us  (Jiiji.  de  la  Nouvelle  Frame, 
,vol.  Ill,  p.  380),  was  fo  called  be- 
caufe  an  Iroquois  war  party  was 


there  furprifed  and  cut  to  pieces  by 
the  Illinois,  but  the  prefcnt  Iroquois 
is  a  branch  of  the  Kankakee  above 
the  Defplaines. 


w 


M 


«  I 


Down  the  Mijffiftppi,  59 

fort  which  he  abandoned. 3°  The  Indians  having 
gone  to  ftay  about  twenty-five  leagues  lower  down, 
we  flept  a  league  below,  where  we  found  two  In- 
dian cabins.  We  were  confoled  to  fee  one  per- 
fectly good  Chriflian  woman. 

From  Chicagvv  to  the  Fort  they  reckon  thirty 
leagues.  Here  navigation  begins,  which  continues 
uninterrupted  to  the  Fort  of  the  Permavevvi,^'  where 
the  Indians  are  now.  We  arrived  there  on  the 
19th  of  November.  We  found  R.  Father  Pinet 
there,  who  not  being  loaded  when  they  ftartcd 
from  Chicagou  had  arrived  here  fix  or  feven  days 
before  us.  We  alfo  faw  there  Rev.  Father  Marays, 
a  Jefuit.  All  the  reverend  Fathers  gave  us  all  pol- 
fible  welcome.  Their  r  ^y  regret  was  to  fee  us 
ftart  fo  foon,  on  account  of  the  frofts,  we  there 
took  a  Frenchman  who  had  fpent  three  years  at 
the  Akanfeas  and  who  knows  the  language  a  little. 

This  Illinois  miflion  feems  to  me  the  fineft  that 
Jefuit  Fathers  have  up  here,  for  without  counting 
all  the  children  who  are  baptized,  there  are  many 
grown  perfons  who  have  abandoned  all  their  fuper- 
flitions  and  live  as  perfedly  good  Chrifl:ians,  fre- 
quenting the  facraments,  and  are  married  in  the 
church.  We  had  not  the  confolation  of  feeing  all 
thefe  good  Chriftians,  for  they  were  all  difperfed 
going  down  the  bank  of  the  river  to  hunt.  We 
faw  there  only  fome  Indian  women  married  to 
Frenchmen,  who  edified  us  by  their  rnodefty  and 

30  Rockfort.  of  the  Illinois  nation,  who  have  left 

their  name  to  a  lake, 
3 » The  Pcorias,  one  of  the  branches 


^j^^^gl^ 


6o 


St,  Cofme's  Voyage 


by  their  afliduity  in  going  feveral  times  a  day  to 
the  chapel  to  pray.  We  fang  High  Mafs  there 
with  deacon  and  fubdeacon,  on  the  day  of  the 
Prefentation  of  the  Blefled  Virgin,  and  after  com- 
mending our  voyage  to  her,  and  placing  ourfelves 
under  her  protedlion,  we  ftarted  from  the  Illinois. 

On  the  2 2d  of  November  wc  had  to  break  the 
ice  for  two  or  three  arpcns  to  get  out  of  the  lake 
of  .     We  were  four  canoes,  Mr.  de  Tonty's, 

our  two,  and  another  [of  five?]  young  voyageurs  who 
chofe  to  accompany  us,  partly  on  account  of  Mr.  de 
Tonty,  who  is  generally  loved  by  all  the  voyageurs, 
partly  alfo  to  fee  the  country.  Rev.  Fathers  Buina- 
teau  and  Pinet  alfo  joined  us  for  a  part  of  the  way, 
wifhing  to  go  and  fpend  the  whole  winter  with 
their  Indians. 

The  firft  day  after  our  departure  we  found  the 
cabin  of  Rouenfas,^*  the  moft  confiderable  of  the 
Illinois  chiefs.  He  is  a  very  good  Chriftan  and 
received  us  politely,  not  like  a  barbarian,  but  like  a 
well  bred  Frenchman ;  he  took  us  to  his  cabin  and 
forced  us  to  fpend  the  night  there.  He  made  us  a 
prefent  of  three  deer,  one  of  which  he  gave  to  the 
Father,  the  other  to  Mr.  de  Tonty,  and  the  third 
to  us.  We  there  learned  that  the  Charanon,  the 
Chekaihas,  and   Karkinonpols   had   furprized  the 

3*  The  name  of  thi$  chief,  Roinfac,  ChaSanon,  or  Shawnee ;  the  Karki- 
was  applied  fubfequcntly  to  the  town  nonpolsare  uncertain;  the  Chekaihas 
ofKafkaflcia.  are  the  Chickafaws ;  the  Kavvkias 

are  the  Kaskias   or  Cahokias,  an 
33  The  copy  id,  as  we  remarked     Illinois  tribe, 
before,  has  r  for   the  Greek  B  in 


•    / 


^ 

1  •> 


^^ 


Down  the  Mifftjftppi, 


6i 


'  \ 


•  1 


Kawklas,  an  Illinois  nation  that  is  about  five  or  Hx 
leagues  below  the  mouth  of  the  River  of  the  Illi- 
nois r.long  the  Miciflipi.  They  had  killed  ten 
men,  taken  nearly  loo  iiaves,  as  well  women  as 
children.  As  this  Rouenfas  has  much  talent,  we 
thought  ourfelves  obliged  to  make  him  fome  pre- 
fent  to  induce  him  to  favour  our  pafTage  through 
the  Illinois  nations,  not  To  much  for  this  firft  voyage 
as  for  the  others,  when  we  might  be  in  lefs  force, 
for  all  thefe  peoples  up  here  are  much  inclined  and 
eafily  conceive  jealoufy  when  one  goes  to  other 
nations.  We  therefore  gave  him  a  belt  to  fhow 
him  that  we  contradled  an  alliance  with  him,  and 
with  all  hi3  nation,  and  that  he  being  a  Chriflian 
fhould  have  no  greater  pleafure  than  to  fee  other 
nations  partake  of  the  happinefs  that  he  enjoyed, 
and  that  to  this  end  he  was  bound  to  facilitate  as 
much  as  he  could  the  defign  of  the  miflionaries 
who  were  going  to  inftrudt  them.  We  then  made 
him  a  little  prefent  of  powder. 

On  the  23d  in  the  morning,  after  faying  our 
maffes,  where  Rouenfas  and  his  family  received  at 
Mr.  de  Montigny's  mafs,  we  fet  out  and  came  to  a 
little  Indian  village  vi^here  we  landed.  The  chief, 
by  name  the  Bear,  told  us  that  it  was  not  apropos 
for  us  to  go  to  the  Miciflipi,  but  Mr.  de  Tonty 
gained  or  intimidated  him  by  thefe  words,  telling 
him  that  we  were  envoys  from  the  Mafter  of  Life, 
who  is  the  king,  and  of  the  great  mafter  of  the 
river,   to  inftrudl  thofe  Indians  where  we   were 

I 


62  Sf,  Co/me* s  Foyage 

going,  and  that  he  was  fpared  by  the  Governor 
to  accompany  us,  fo  that  to  give  us  any  trouble 
would  be  to  attack  the  Governor  in  perfon.  As  he 
made  no  reply  to  thefe  words  we  embarked,  and  on 
the  24th  we  went  to  pafs  the  night  at  another  vil- 
lage of  feveral  cabins,  where  we  found  the  one 
called  Tivet,  once  a  famous  chief  in  his  nation,  but 
of  late  abandoned  by  almoil  all  his  people.  He 
made  many  complaints  to  Mr.  de  Tonty,  who  re- 
proached him  with  the  fadt  that  it  was  his  mifcon- 
dudt  that  drew  on  him  the  hatred  of  his  people, 
and  that  he  had  long  promifed  to  give  up  his  jug- 
glery (for  he  is  a  famous  medicine  man),  but  that 
he  had  done  nothing  of  the  kind.  He  was  after- 
wards there  at  prayers,  and  the  Indian  promifed  to 
be  inftruifled. 

The  next  day,  March  25th,  we  parted  with  Rev. 
Father  Pinet,  who  remains  in  this  village  to  pafs 
the  winter,  for  there  was  a  good  number  of  Praying 
Indians,  and  on  the  26  we  found  a  village,  the 
chief  of  which  was  hunting  with  all  his  young  men. 
Some  old  men  came  to  meet  us,  weeping  for  the 
death  of  their  people  defeated  by  the  Chabanons. 
They  told  us  that  we  did  not  do  well  to  go  through 
che  Carrechias^*  with  the  Chauanons,  to  whom, 
they  faid,  Mr.  de  Tonty  had  given  arms  and  had 
attacked  them.  Mr.  de  Tonty  replied  that  it  was 
over  three  years  fince  he  left  the  Illinois,  and  that 
he  could  not  have  (ttn  the  Chauanons  to  give  them 
arms,  but  as  the  Indians  continued  conftantly  fay- 

34The  copyift  here  evidently  blundered  at  CaUkias. 


■\       »' 


\    ■ 


Down  the  Mijfijfippi. 


63 


t  I 


ing  many  unrcafonablc  things,  we  faw  well  that 
they  were  not  well  difpofcd  and  that  we  fhould 
ftart  as  foon  as  poiTible,  before  the  youth,  who  were 
to  arrive  next  morning,  came  in.  We  accordingly 
left  abruptly,  Mr.  de  Tonty  telling  them  that  he 
did  not  fear  men.  They  told  us  that  they  bewailed 
our  youth,  who  would  be  killed.  Mr.  de  Tonty 
replied  that  they  had  feen  him  meet  the  Iroquois, 
and  that  they  knew  that  he  could  kill  men.  It 
muft  be  avowed  tlat  the  Indian:,  have  a  very  great 
efteem  for  him ;  it  is  enough  for  him  to  be  in  a 
party  to  prevent  their  ofT^^ring  any  infult.  Wc 
embarked  at  once  dnd  wc«  t  to  p?/s  the  night  five 
or  fix  leagues  from  this  village,  "he  next  day  wc 
were  detained  a  part  of  the  day  b)  reafon  of  a  great 
quantity  of  ice  that  was  :i.  cting  in  the    'iver. 

On  the  28th  we  landrd  ai  a  village  where  there 
were  about  twenty  cabins.  We  there  faw  tJie 
chief's  wife.  This  woman  is  very  influential  in 
the  nation  on  account  of  her  talent  and  liberality, 
and  becaufe  having"  many  fons  and  fons-in-law, 
all  hunters,  fhe  often  giv«^  3  banquets,  which  is  a 
means  of  foon  acquiring  influence  among  thefe 
Indians,  and  all  their  nations.  We  faid  mafs  in 
the  village  in  the  cabin  of  a  foldier  named  La 
Violette,  niai  led  to  a  fquaw,  whofe  child  Mr.  de 
Montigny  baptl/ed.  Mr.  de  Tonty  related  to  this 
chieftainefs  what  they  had  faid  to  us  in  the  laft 
village.  She  difapproved  it  all  and  told  him  that 
all  th^  nation  felt  great  joy  to  fee  him  and  us  too, 


64 


St.  Co/me's  Voyage 


but  what  grieved  her  was  not  to  be  fure  of  feeing 
him  again  and  poffeffing  him  longer. 

We  left  this  village  and  made  about  eight  leagues. 
From  the  29th  of  November  to  the  3d  of  Decem- 
ber we  were  detained  at  the  fame  place  by  the  ice, 
by  which  the  river  was  entirely  blocked  up. 
During  all  this  time  we  had  provifions  in  plenty, 
for  one  can  not  fall  on  this  river,  fo  abundant  is  it 
in  game  of  all  kinds,  fwans,  geefe,  ducks.  It  is 
fkirted  by  very  fine  woods,  which  are  not  very 
large,  fo  that  you  fometimes  meet  fine  prairies, 
where  there  are  numbers  of  deer.  Charbonneau 
killed  feveral  while  we  were  detained.  Others  alfo 
killed  fome.  The  navigation  of  this  river  is  not 
very  good  when  the  water  is  low.  We  were 
fometimes  obliged  to  march  with  a  part  of  our 
people  while  the  others  conduded  the  canoes,  not 
without  difficulty,  being  fometimes  obliged  to  get 
into  the  water  which  was  already  very  cold. 
During  our  delay.  Rev.  Father  Buineteau,  whom 
we  had  left  at  the  village  of  the  chief's  wife,  came 
to  fee  us  and  after  fpending  a  day  with  us  returned 
to  the  village  for  the  Feaft  of  St.  Francis  Xavier. 
On  that  day  a  high  wind  having  broken  a  part 
of  the  ice  we  made  about  a  league.  The  next 
day,  having  taken  wooden  canoes  at  five  Indian 
cabins,  we  broke  about  three  or  four  arpens  of  ice 
that  blocked  up  the  river,  and  was  about  four 
inches  thick  and  bore  men  on  it.  Then  we  had 
navigation  free  to  the  Miciffipi,  where  we  arrived 


. 


Down  the  MiJJiJftppi. 


6s 


on  the  5th  of  December,  after  having  made  about 
eight  leagues  from  the  Fort  of  Peniteni.3s 

Miciflippi  is  a  large  and  beautiful  river,  that 
comes  from  the  north.  It  divides  into  feveral 
channels  at  the  part  where  the  river  of  the  Illinois 
empties,  wrhich  forms  very  beautiful  iflands.  It 
makes  feveral  bends  but  feems  to  me  to  keep  alw^ays 
the  fame  direction  to  the  fouth  as  far  as  the  Akanfeas. 
It  is  lined  by  very  fine  forefts.  The  bank  on  both 
fides  appears  about  thirty  feet  high,  v^rhich  does 
not  prevent  its  inundating  far  into  the  woods  in 
the  fpring  when  the  waters  are  high,  except  fome 
hills  or  very  elevated  fpots  occafionally  met  with. 
You  find  all  along  great  quantities  of  buflfalo,  bear, 
dee^r.  You  alfo  fee  a  very  great  number  of  birds. 
We  always  had  fo  great  a  quantity  of  meat  along 
this  river  as  far  as  the  Acanfeas,  that  we  paflled 
feveral  herds  of  buffalo  without  caring  to  fire  at 
them. 

On  the  6th  of  December  we  embarked  on  the 
Miciffippi.  After  making  about  fix  leagues  we 
found  the  great  river  of  the  MifTouris,  which  comes 
from  the  wefl,  and  which  is  fo  muddy  that  it  fpoils 
the  waters  of  the  Miciflipi,  which  down  to  this 
river  are  very  clear.  It  is  faid  that  there  are  up 
this  mountain  (river?)  a  great  number  of  Indians. 
Three  or  four  leagues  [further]  we  found  on  the 
left  a  rock  having  fome  figures  painted  on  it,  for 
which,  it  is  faid,  the  Indians  have  fome  veneration. 

35  Pometeouy,  or  Peoria  it  would     from  the  Mifliflippi  in  1 7  2 1 .  Charle- 
reem,  but  that  was  feventy  leagues     voix,u\,  391. 


1 


fmmmmmmm 


66 


St,  Cofme^s  Voyage 


They  are  now  almoft  efFaced.J*  We  went  that 
day  to  Kavvechias,37  who  were  ftill  mourning  over 
the  blow  inflidted  on  them  by  the  Chikakas  and 
Chouanons ;  they  all  began  to  weep  on  our  arrival. 
They  did  not  feem  to  us  fo  hoflile  or  ill  difpofed  as 
fome  Illinois  Indians  had  told  us  of  thefe  poor 
people,  who  excited  more  our  compaflion  than  our 
fear. 

The  next  day  about  rioon  we  reached  the  Tama- 
rois.3*  The  Indians  had  been  early  notified  of  our 
coming  by  another 'who  had  ftarted  from  the 
AkanfeasJ9  to  carry  them  the  news.  As  they  had 
given  trouble  to  fome  of  Mr.  de  Tonty's  men  a 
year  before,  they  were  afraid,  and  all  the  women 
and  children  fled  from  the  village ;  but  we  did  not 
go  to  it,  as  we  wifhed  to  prepare  for  the  feaft  of  the 
Conception,  we  cabined  on  the  other  fide  of  the 
river  on  the  right.  Mr.  de  Tonty  went  "to  the 
village  and  having  reafTured  them  a  little,  he 
brought  us  the  chief  who  begged  us  to  go  and  fee 
him  in  his  village.  We  promifed  to  do  fo  and 
next  day,  Feafl  of  the  Conception,  after  faying  our 
MafTes  we  went  with  Mr.  de  Tonty  and  feven  of 
our  men  well  armed.  They  came  to  receive  us 
and  took  us  to  the  chief's  cabin.  All  the  women 
and  children  were  there,  and  we  were  no  Iboner 
there  than  the  young  folks  and  women  broke  in  a 
part  to  be  able  to  fee  us.     They  had  never  feen 

16  This  is  the  Picfa,  or  painted      38  The  Tamarois,  or  Maroas,  were 
rocic,  firft  mentioned  by  Marquette,     an  Illinois  tribe. 

37  Cahokias.  39  This  name  is  evidently  wrong. 


\  . 


Down  the  Mijfijftpp 


V 


/.  67 

any  Black  Gown  except  for  a  few  days  the  Rev. 
Father  Gravier,*°  who  had  paid  them  a  vifit. 
They  gave  us  a  meal,  and  we  made  them  a  little 
prefent  as  we  had  done  to  the  Carrechias.  We  told 
them  that  it  was  to  (how.  them  that  we  had  a  well 
made  heart,  and  that  we  wiflied  to  contradt  an 
alliance  with  them,  fo  that  they  (hould  kindly  re- 
ceive our  people  who  often  paffed  there,  and  that 
they  fliould  give  them  food.  They  received  it 
with  many  thanks  and  then  we  returned.  The 
Tamarois  were  cahined  on  an  ifland  lower  down 
than  their  village,  perhaps  to  get  wood  more  eafily, 
from  which  their  village,  which  is  on  the  edge  of  a 
prairie,  is  fomewhat  diftant ;  perhaps  too  for  fear 
of  their  enemies.'  We  could  not  well  fee  whether 
they  were  very  "numerous.  They  feemed  to  us 
quite  fo,  although  the  greater  part  of  their  people 
were  hunting.  There  was  wherewith  to  form  a 
fine  million  by  bringing  here  the  Kavvchias,  who 
are  quite  near,  and  the  Michiagamias,  who  are  a 
little  lower  down  on  the  Mifliffippi,  and  faid  to  be 
quite  numerous.*'  •  ,We  did  not  fee  them  as  they 
had  gone  inland  to  hunt.  The  three  villages  fpeak 
Illinois. 

We  left  Tamarois  on  the  8th  of  December,  in 

i 

40  The  author  of  a  fubfequent 
Journal  in  this  volume. 


41  The  Metchigamlas  were  lower 
down  the  Miffiffippi  in  Marquette's 
time,  but  joined  the  Illinois  and  be- 
came incorporated  with  them  be- 


fore 1721  (Charlevoix,  vol.  iii,  p. 
398).  Their  language  was  how- 
ever different,  as  we  fee  by  Fa- 
ther Marquette's  Journal  where 
he  dcfcribes  the  critical  moment 
when  the  tribe  poured  out  to  attack 
him, 


68 


St.  Cofme^s  Voyage 


the  afternoon.  On  the  loth  we  faw  a  hill  which 
is  about  three  arpcnts  diftance  from  the  Miciffipi, 
on  the  right  hand  going  down.  After  being  de- 
tained a  part  of  the  1 1  th  by  the  rain,  we  arrived 
early  on  the  1 2th  at  Cape  St.  Antoine,  where  we 
remained  that  day  and  all  the  next  to  get  pitch, 
which  we  needed.  There  are  many' pines  from 
Cape  St.  Antoine  to  a  river  lower  down,  and  it 
is  the  only  fpot  where  I  faw  any  from  Chigagou 
to  the  Acanfeas.  Cape  St.  Antoine  is  a  rock  on 
the  left  as  you  go  down  Some  arpents  below  there 
is  another  rock  onthe  right  which  advances  into 
the  river,  and  forms  an  ifland,  or  rather  a  rock 
about  200  feet  high,  which  making  the  river  turn 
back  very  abruptly  and  narrowing  the  channel 
forms  a  kind  of  whirlpool  there,  where  it  is  faid 
a  canoe  is  ingulfed  at  the  high  waters.  Fourteen 
Miamis  were  once  loft  there,  which  has  rendered 
the  fpot  fearful  among  the  Indians,  fo  that  they  are 
accuftomed  to  make  fome  facrifices  to  this  rock 
when  they  pafs.  We  faw  no  figure  there  as  we 
had  been  told.-**  You  afcend  this  ifland  and  rock 
by  a  hill  with  confiderable  difficulty.  On  it  we 
planted  a  beautiful  crofs,  finging  the  Vexilla  Regis, 
and  our  people  fired  three  volleys  of  muflcetry. 
God  grant  that  the  Crofs  which  has  never  been 
known  in  thefe  regions,  may  triumph  there  and 
our  Lord  pour  forth  abundantly  on  them  the  merits 
of  his  holy  paflion,  that  all  the  Indians  may  know 

4*  See  Marquette's  account  in  his  Journal,  feftion  7. 


w 


, 


JDown  the  Mifftfftppi. 


69 


and  ferve  him.  At  Cape  St.  Antoine  you  begin  to 
find  canes.  There  is  alfo  a  kind  of  large  tree  like 
the  whitewood,  which  exudes  a  gum  of  very  good 
odor ;  you  find  too  all  along  the  Miciflipi  a  quantity 
of  fruit  trees  unknown  in  Canada,  the  fruit  of  which 
is  excellent.  We  found  fometimes  fruit  ftill  on  the 
trees.  I  had  forgotten  to  note  here  that  [fince]  we 
were  on  the  Miciflipi  we  did  not  perceive  that  we 
were  in  winter,  and  the  more  we  defcended  the 
greater  heat  we  found,  yet  the  nights  are  cool. 

We  left  Cape  St.  Antoine  on  the  14th  of  De- 
cember, and  on  the  15th  we  halted  for  the  night 
one  league  below  the  Wabache,'*^  a  large  and  beau- 
tiful river  which  is  on  the  left  of  the  Miciflipi  and 
comes  from  towards  the  north,  and  is  they  fay  five 
hundred  leagues  long,  and  rifes  near  the  Sonontu- 
ans.4*  They  go  by  this  river  to  the  Chauanons, 
who  trade  with  the  Englifli. 

On  the  1 6th  we  ftarted  from  Wabache,  and 
nothing  fpecial  befel  us,  nor  did  we  find  any  thing 
remarkable  till  the  Acanfeas,  except  that  we  found 
a  certain  bird,  as  large  as  a  fwan,  which  has  the  bill 
about  a  foot  long,  and  the  throat  of  extraordinary 
fize,  fo  large  in  ibme,  they  fay,  that  it  would  hold 
a  bufhel  of  wheat.  The  one  that  we  took  was  a 
fmall  one  and  would  eafily  have  held  in  his  throat 


43  The  Ohio,  long  called  Wa- 
bafh  by  the  French  from  its  mouth 
to  the  fource  of  the  prcfcnt  Wa- 
bafh ;  the  Ohio  being  the  part  from 
Pittfturgh    to    the.  Wabafh     (fee 

K 


Gravier's  Journal   in  this  volume, 
and  the  note  on  the  Arkanfas,  p.  75). 

44  Scnecas, 


70   .  St.  Cofme*s  Voyage 

half  a  bufhel.  They  fay  that  this  bird  gets  in  the 
current,  and  opening  his  large  bill  [takes  the  fifh]  that 
thruft  themfelves  into  his  gullet.  Our  Frenchmen 
call  this  bird  Chibek.'^s  On  the  22d  we  found  a 
fmall  river  on  the  left  going  down,  which  is  faid  to 
be  the  road  to  go  to  the  Chicachas,  who  are  a  large 
nation,  and  it  is  fuppofed  that  it  is  not  very  far  from 
this  little  river  to  their  villages. 

On  the  24th  we  cabined  early  fo  that  our  people 
might  prepare  for  the  great  feaft  of  Chriftmas. 
We  made  a  little  chapel ;  we  fang  a  high  mafs  at 
midnight  where  our  people  and  all  the  French  at- 
tended their  duties.  Chriftmas  day  was  fpent  in 
faying  our  mafles,  all  which  our  people  heard  and 
in  the  afternoon  we  chanted  Vefpers.  We  were 
greatly  aftoniflied  to  fee  the  earth  tremble  at  one 
clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  although  this  earth- 
quake did  not  laft  long,  it  was  violent  enough  for 
all  to  perceive  it  eafily.  We  ftarted  next  day  a 
little  late,  becaufe  we  had  to  wait  for  an  Indian 
boy  that  Mr.  de  Tonty  had,  who  went  into  the 
woods  the  day  before  to  look  for  fruit  and  got  loft. 
We  thought  that  he  might  have  been  taken  by 
fome  Chicacha  warriors,  which  obliged  us  to  keep 
watch  and  ward  all  night,  but  we  were  quite  glad 
to  fee  him  come  back  next  morning.  We  fet  out 
and  went  to  cabin  for  the  night  near  the  fpot  where 
the  Kappas,*^  a  nation  of  the  Akanfeas  were 
formerly. 

♦S  The  Grandgozier  or  Pelican. 
46  This  tribe,  the  Quapaws,  is 


now  the  fole  remnant  of  the  once 


powerful  Arkanfas  nation.  Some 
would  identify  them  with  the  Paca- 
has  of  de  Soto. 


,1 


\  M 


Down  the  Mifftjftppi, 


71 

On  St.  John's  day,  after  making  about  five 
leagues,  we  faw  fome  wooden  canoes  and  an  Indian 
on  the  water's  edge;  as  we  were  near  and  were 
afraid  that  he  would  take  to  flight  on  feeing  us, 
one  of  our  men  took  the  calumet  and  fung.  He 
was  heard  at  the  village  which  was  quite  near;  a 
part  ran  away,  the  others  brought  the  calumet  and 
came  to  receive  us  at  the  water's  edge.  They 
rubbed  us  when  we  came  up  and  then  rubbed 
♦^hemfelves,  a  mark  of  efteem  among  the  Indians. 
rhey  took  us  on  their  Ihoulders  and  carried  us  to 
a  chief's  cabin.  There  was  a  hill  of  potter's  clay 
to  get  up  and  the  one  that  carried  fank  under  his 
burden.  I  was  afraid  that  he  would  let  me  fall  and 
fo  I  got  down  in  fpite  of  him  and  went  up  the  hill, 
but  as  foon  as  I  got  to  the  top  I  had  abfolutely  to 
get  on  his  back  and  be  carried  to  the  cabin.  Some 
time  after  they  came  to  chant  the  Calumef^^  for  us, 
and  the  next  afternoon  they  carried  us  to  another 
cabin,  where  making  Mr.  de  Tonty  and  us  alfo 
fit  down  on  bear  fkins,  and  four  chiefs  having  each 
taken  a  calumet  that  they  had  placed  before  us,  the 
others  began  to  fing,  ftriking  on  a  kind  of  drum, 
made  of  earthen  pots  over  which  they  place  a  fkin  : 
they  hold  in  their  hands  a  gourd  with  pebbles  in  it, 
which  make  a  noife,  and  then  chant  according  with 
the  found  of  thefe  drums,  and  the  found  of  thefe 
gourds.  This  makes  a  mufic  which  is  not  the  moft 
agreeable,  while  an  Indian  who  was  behind  rocked 

47  Marquette  firft  defcribcd  the     fome  intcrcfting  details  as  to  it. 
Calumet,  and  Father  Gravier  gives 


72  St,  Cofme^s  Voyage 

us.  We  were  foon  difgufted  with  this  ceremony; 
which  they  perform  for  all  ftrangers,  as  they  efteem 
it  and  you  muft  fufFer  it  or  pafs  for  being  ill  dif- 
pofed  and  having  bad  defigns.  We  put  fome  of  our 
people  in  our  place  after  ftaying  there  a  little  while, 
and  they  had  the  pleafure  of  being  rocked  all  night. 
The  next  day  they  made  us  a  prelum  of  a  little 
flave  and  of  fome  (kins,  which  we  repaid  by  another 
prefent  of  knives  and  other  things  that  they  efteem 
highly.  We  were  much  "'^nfoled  to  fee  ourfelves 
in  the  [propofed]  places  of  our  miflions,  but  we  were 
fenfibly  amidled  to  fee  this  Acanfea  nation  once  fo 
numerous  entirely  deftroyed  by  war  and  iicknefs. 
It  is  not  a  month  fmce  they  got  over  the  fmall 
pox  which  carried  off  the  greateft  part  of  them. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  feen  in  the  village  but 
graves.  There  were  two  [tribes]  together  there 
and  we  eftimated  that  there  were  not  a  hundred 
men ;  all  the  children  and  a  great  part  of  the  wo- 
men were  dead.  Thefe  Indians  feem  of  a  very  good 
difpoiition.  We  were  every  moment  invited  to 
feafts.  They  poflefs  extraordinary  fidelity.  They 
tranfported  all  we  had  to  a  cabin,  and  it  remained 
there  for  two  days  without  anything  being  taken, 
and  for  ourfelves  there  was  nothing  loft.  One  of 
our  men  having  forgotten  his  knife  in  a  cabin,  an 
Indian  at  once  came  to  reftore  it.  Polygamy  is 
not  common  among  them.  Yet  we  faw  in  the 
village  of  the  Kappas  one  of  thofe  wretched  men 
who  from  their  youth  drefs  as  women,  ferving 
for  the  moft  fhameful  of  vices,  but  this  wretch  was 


■  • 


^. 


It 


c  • 


Down  the  Mijftjffippi,  73 

not  of  their  nation:  he  was  an  Illinois,  among 
whom  this  is  quite  common.  Thefe  Indians  have 
in  abundance,  corn,  beans,  fquafhes.  As  for  hunt- 
ing, being  crushed  by  ficknefs  and  in  conftant  fear 
of  their  enemies,  we  faw  no  figns  of  any  in  their 
village.  They  cabin  like  the  Hurons,  ufing  large 
earthen  pots  inftead  of  kettles  and  well  made 
pitchers.  They  are  quite  naked  except  that  when 
they  go  out  they  throw  a  buffalo  robe  around 
them.  The  women  and  girls  are  like  the  Illinois 
half  naked  :  they  have  a  fkin  hanging  down  from 
the  waift  and  reaching  to  the  knees ;  fome  have  a 
fmall  deer  fkin  like  a  fcarf. 

We  remained  in  this  village  two  days  and  a  half, 
and  after  planting  a  crofs  that  we  told  them  was 
a  fign  of  our  union,  we  ftarted  on  the  30th  of 
November  [  ?  December]  to  go  to  their  other  vil- 
lage which  is  about  nine  leagues  from  this.  It 
was  a  deep  regret  to  part  with  Mr.  de  Tonty  who 
could  not  go  with  us  for  feveral  reafons.  He 
would  much  have  defired  to  bear  us  company  to 
the  other  nations  where  we  were  going,  but  bufi- 
nefs  called  him  back  to  the  Illinois.  He  is  the 
man  that  beft  knows  the  country.  He  has  been 
twice  to  the  fea;  he  has  been  twice  far  inland  to 
the  remoteft  nations ;  he  is  loved  and  feared  every 
where.  If  they  were  exploring  thefe  parts,  I  do 
not  think  that  they  can  confide  it  to  a  more  expe- 
rienced man  than  he  is.  Your  grace,  Monfeigneur, 
will,  I  doubt  not,  take  pleafure  in  acknowledging 
the  obligations  we  owe  him. 


74  ^^'  Cofme's  Voyage 

We  flept  at  the  mouth  of  the  Acanfcas  river, 
which  is  about  250  leagues  diflant  from  that  of  the 
Illinois.  We  arrived  early  next  morning  at  the 
village.  The  Indians  came  to  meet  us  with  the 
calumet ;  they  led  us  to  the  village  with  the  fame 
ceremonies  as  the  firft.  We  fpent  two  days  there. 
This  village  feems  to  me  a  little  more  populous 
than  the  other,  there  were  more  children.  We 
told  them  that  we  were  going  further  down  to 
their  neighbours  and  friends ;  that  they  would  fee 
us  often  ;  that  they  would  do  well  to  aiTemble  all 
together  fo  as  more  eafily  to  refift  their  enemies. 
They  agreed  to  all  and  promifed  to  try  and  make 
the  Ozages  join  them,  who  had  left  the  river  of  the 
MiiTouris  and  were  on  the  upper  waters  of  their 
river. 

We  ftarted  on  the  2d  of  January  and  went  to 
cabin  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  the  French, 
who  were  going  back,  would  give  us  only  one  day 
to  write.  I  expected  to  have  more  time  to  do  it, 
hoping  to  go  up  from  the  Acanfeas  to  the  Illinois, 
but  as  we  are  going  much  further  down  I  am  afraid 
that  the  letters  that  we  write  hereafter  may  not 
reach  you  this  year,  the  opportunity  being  paft 
when  we  reached  the  Illinois.  I  therefore  beg 
your  grace  to  excufe  me,  if  this  is  fumewhat  ill 
digelled.  Time  preffes  fo  much  on  me,  that  I 
cannot  write  even  to  any  of  our  gentlemen,  whom 
I  beg  you  to  permit  me  to  falute  and  commend 
myfelf  to  their  holy  facriHces.  I  hope  that  your 
Grace  will  grant  me  the  fame  favour. 


7 


Down  the  'Mijftjftppi.  75 

From  his  good  fervant  before  our  Lord.     From 
him  who  is  with  the  mod  profound  rcfped, 
Monfeigneur, 
Your  Grace's 

Moft  humble  and  moft,  &c. 


i( 


Letter  of  Mr.  de  Montigny, 

WE  arrived  fafely  among  the  nations  that  we 
fought  after  fix  months*  navigation,  which 
was  not  interrupted  by  winter.  Thefe  nations  have 
received  us  with  a  joy  and  a  welcome  that  I  can- 
not exprefs,  efpecially  when  they  learned  that  we 
had  come  to  ftay  among  them.  The  firft  among 
whom  we  thought  of  eftablifliing  [a  miffion]  are 
the  Tonicas,  who  are  fixty  leagues  lower  down 
than  the  Akanfeas.*'  Mr.  Davion  has  ftationed 
himfelf  there.     The  fpot  where  he  is  is  quite  fine. 


*im 


48  The  Arkanfas  were  evidently 

/b  called  by  the  northern  Algonquin 
nations,  and  efpecially  by  the  Illi- 
nois. Marquette  firll  gives  the 
name  Akanfcn,  and  the  French 
who  ff:  ''od  in  Illinois  feem  to 
have  confirmed  it.  The  tribe  call- 
ed themfclves  Ouguapas  or  Qua- 
paws,  apparently  the  Ouyapcs  of 
Charlevoix.  Their  language  is  a 
Dahcotah  dialcdt.  Gravier  in  his 
Journal  ftatcs  the  important  faft  that 
the  Illinois  called  the  Ohio,  the  river 


of  the  Arkanfas,  from  its  having 
been  the  rcfidence  of  that  people. 
La  Metairie,  the  notary  of  La  Salle's 
expedition,  calls  the  Ohio,  the  Oli- 
ghinfipou,  or  Aleghin,  evidently  an 
Algonquin  word,  ftpou  being  the 
term  river.  Arkanfas  is  written  in 
fomc  of  the  early  Louifiana  papers 
Alkanfas.  This  and  Aleghin  or 
Olighin,  in  the  French  pronuncia- 
tion are  not  very  diffimilar.  When 
we  confider  that  the  Delawares  and 
Illinois,  are  kindred  nations  of  thQ 


76  -5*/.  Cofme's  Foya;^e 

\Vith  fomc  fmall  villages  ot  fomc  other  nation 
who  are  with  them,  they  make  about  2000  fouls. 
About  one  day's  journey  lower  down  (that  is  to  fay 
20  leagues),  are  the  Taenfas,  who  fpeak  another 
language.  They  are  only  a  fhort  day's  journey 
from  the  Natchez,  who  are  of  the  fame  nation  and 
fpeak  the  fame  language.  For  the  prefent  I  refide 
among  the  Taenfas,*'  but  am  to  go  fhortly  to  the 
Natchez.  This  nation  is  very  great  and  more 
numerous  than  theTonicas.  The  Taenfas  are  only 
about  700  fouls.  As  for  Mr.  de  St.  Cofme  he  re- 
mains at  the Tamarouois.  The  Akanfeas  would  have 
greatly  defired  us  to  ftay  among  them,  but  as  they 
were  not  aflembled  in  a  fingle  village  [but  fcattered] 
which  would  have  been  too  difficult  to  attend,  we 
have  advifed  them  to  aflemble  together  fo  as  to 
have  a  miffionary.  This  they  are  going  to  do  next 
fpring,  and  they  wifh  even  to  make  us  a  houfe  alfo 


fame  name  (Lcnni,  lllini)  it  may  be 
that  the  Quappaws  arc  the  Allcghans 
or  Allcgcwi,  whom  the  Delawares 
fay  they  and  the  Iroquois  drove 
down  the  MiflifTippi.  It  the  Qua- 
paws  are  the  Pacahas  of  Dc  Soto, 
the  retreat  from  the  Ohio  mull  date 
back  to  the  fifteenth  century  at  Icaft. 
When  firll  difcovcrcd  by  the  French 
the  Arkanfas  were  divided  into  four 
tribes:  i,  the  Kappas;  2,  the  Toy- 
engan  or  Tongcnga,  Doginga,  To- 
gengas  or  Topingas ;  3,  the  Tori- 
man,  Toreman  or  Tourimans ;  4, 
the  Atotchafi,  Ofotonoy  or  Aflbu- 
toue,  Ofitteoez,  Otfotchove  or  Sau- 


thouis,  as  the  names  are  differently 
given  by  different  authors.  A  rem- 
nant of  the  tribe  (till  cxifts,  and  arc 
known  as  the  ^uapaws. 

49  The  Taenfas  were  firft  dc- 
fcribcd  by  Father  Mcmbre  (fee  his 
Journal  in  Dijcovery  and  Explora- 
tion of  the  Miffijpppi  y alley,  170-2, 
and  alfo  Thaumur  and  Gravicr, 
pojl).  Le  Page  da  Pratz  fays  they 
were  a  branch  of  the  Natchez  and 
fpoke  the  fame  language  (11,  219). 
They  had  entirely  difappeared  prior 
to  1712.  (Charlevoix  Hift.  de  la 
Nouvelle  France,  ni,  4^8.) 


w 


A.      '^ 


Down  the  Mijffijftppi,  77 

to  induce  us  to  go  and  fee  them  and  to  remain  with 
them.  Thefe  people  are  very  mild,  give  a  warm 
welcome  and  have  a  great  eftcem  for  the  French ; 
they  are  fedentary,  cultivate  the  earth,  living  on 
nothing  fcarcely  but  Indian  corn. 

I  often  fpeak  of  the  Tonicas  and  the  Taenfas  and 
of  thofe  wno  are  on  the  banks  of  the  Miciflipi 
going  down  to  the  fea,  for  far  inland  the  Indians 
are  in  great  numbers.  They  have  rather  fine  tem- 
ples, the  walls  of  which  are  of  mats.  That  of  the 
Taenfas  has  walls  feven  or  eight  feet  thick  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  number  of  mats  one  on  another. 
They  regard  the  Serpent  as  one  of  their  divinities  fo 
far  as  I  could  fee.  They  would  not  dare  to  accept 
or  appropriate  anything  of  the  flighted  confequence 
without  taking  it  to  the  temple.  When  they  re- 
ceive anything  it  is  with  a  kind  of  veneration  that 
they  turn  towards  this  temple.  They  do  not  feem 
to  be  debauched  in  their  lives.  On  account  of  the 
great  heat  the  men  go  naked,  and  the  women  and 
girls  are  not  well  covered,  and  the  girls  up  to  the 
age  of  twelve  years  go  entirely  naked.  They  are 
fo  mild  and  have  fo  much  deference  for  what  we 
told  them,  that  I  perfuade  myfelf  that  it  will  not 
be  very  difficult  when  I  know  their  language  a 
little  to  reform  this  abufe,  which  among  them 
makes  no  impreffion,  they  being  accuftomed  to  it 
from  childhood.  They  have  alfo  another  abufe. 
When  their  chiefs  are  dead,  as  he  has  been  more 
efteemed,  the  more  perfons  they  kill  who  offer 
themfelves  to  die  with  him,  and  lafl  year,  when 


78 


«?/.  Cofme^s  Voyage 


the  chief  of  the  Taenfas  died,  there  were  twelve 
perfons  who  offered  to  die,  and  whom  they  toma- 
hawked. There  is  never  any  winter  among  '.hem, 
they  do  not  know  fnow  and  have  never  feen  it. 
There  is  always  grafs  there,  and  at  the  end  of 
January,  the  peach  and  plum  trees  and  violets  were 
in  bloffom.  I  have  feen  about  this  time  at  the 
Taenfas  as  great  heats  as  in  midfummer  at  Kebeq, 
and  yet  thofe  who  have  fpent  the  fummer  there 
affirm  that  it  is  not  hotter  than  at  Quebec.  The 
foil  is  very  good,  the  Indian  corn  grows  fometimes 
twenty  feet  high,  and  a  finglc  grain  will  fend  out 
ten  or  twelve  flalks  almoft  as  thick  as  your  arm. 
There  are  a  great  many  herbs  and  plants  and  others 
which  are  unknown  to  us.  If  you  have  any  wi(h  to 
fee  the  drefs  of  our  Indians,  we  fend  one  to  Mr.  Leui- 
fen,  who  will  fhow  it  to  you.  As  we  do  not  know  the 
language,  we  have  not  yet  made  any  great  conver- 
lions,  neverthelefs  we  have  the  confolation  of  having 
baptized  feveral  dying  children  and  a  very  diftin- 
gui(hed  chief  of  the  Tonicas,  whom  we  inftruded 
by  interpreters.  We  were  furprifed  to  fee  fuch 
judgment  in  an  Indian  and  difpolitions  as  Chriftian 
as  what  he  had.  As  he  was  in  extremis  we  bap- 
tized him  and  gave  him  the  name  of  Paul.  He 
died  the  next  day,  after  making  ads  of  religion 
which  greatly  edified  us. 

I  beg  you  kindly  to  continue  your  good  prayers 
for  our  miflions,  for  I  am  perfuaded  and  juftly,  that 
they  it  is  that  have  obtained  us  a  profperous  voyage. 
I  falute  all  the  community.     I  fliould  have  liked  to 


^    •  11^ 


r 


Down  the  Mijffijffippi,  79 

write  to  feveral,  but  have  not  been  able.     I  am 

more  than  I  can  tell,  in  our  Lord 

De  Montigny. 
Fron  the  Akanfeas,  this  2d  January,  1699. 


m 


Letter  of  Mr.  Thaumur  de  la 

Source. 

THIS  is  to  let  you  know  that  we  have  accom  - 
plifhed  the  Akanfeas  voyage,  quite  fafely, 
thank  God,  and  have  defcended  within  200  leagues 
of  the  fea.  I  will  not  fpeak  to  you  of  our  route 
from  Michilimaquinac  to  the  Akanfeas  in  this  that 
I  have  the  honour  of  writing  you,  for  fear  of  tiring 
you.  Our  gentlemen  have  drawn  up  a  relation 
which  they  fend  to  the  Bifliop,  I  fuppofe  that  you 
will  fee  it.  It  will  tell  you  all  the  adventures  of 
the  voyage.  We  [arrived]  on  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber at  the  Akanfeas,  where  we  were  very  well  re- 
ceived.    They  did  not  know  how  to  treat  us  beft. 

This  fine  nation,  which  is  fpoken  of is  almoH: 

entirely  deftroyed  by  war  and  ficknefs.  It  is  a  great 
pity.  They  are  the  beft  made,  frankeft  and  beft 
difpofed  men  that  we  have  feen.  We  planted  a 
crofs  there  and  when  they  go  to  hunt  they  do  the 
fame  thing.  On  our  way  back  we  found  one  that 
they  had  planted  on  the  banks  of  the  Miciflipi. 
They  await  a  miffionary  in  great  impatience. 
Mr.  de  Montigny   feeing   them   irrefolute   about 


8o  St,  Cofme's  Voyage, 

going  further  down,  we  fet  out  on  the  4th  of  Janu- 
ary, with  little  provifions,  expedting  to  find  game 
as  ufual,  for  from  Chikagou  to  the  Akanfeas  in  the 
Miciflipi,  the  bifon  and  cows  are  fo  numerous  that 
you  cannot  lack  provifions  if  you  have  powder  and 
ball.  Bear  and  deer  are  very  numerous ;  we  killed 
feveral  with  fwords.  On  ftarting  from  the  Akan- 
feas we  had  rain  for  the  fpace  of  five  days,  during 
which  we  made  no  great  progrefs.  Our  whole 
ftock  of  provifion  confided  of  dried  fquafh,  and 
even  of  that  we  did  not  make  half  a  meal.  On 
Twelfth  day  we  did  not  eat  a  bit.  On  the  nth 
we  arrived  at  the  Tonicas,5°  about  fixty  leagues  be- 
low the  Akanfeas.  The  firft  village  is  four  leagues 
from  the  Miciflipi  inland  on  the  bank  of  a  quite 
pretty  river;  they  are  difperfed  in  little  villages; 
they  cover  in  all  four  leagues  of  country ;  they 
are  about  260  cabins.  Their  houfes  are  made 
of  palifades  and  earth,  and  are  very  large;  they 
make  fire  in  them  only  twice  a  day,  and  do  their 
cooking  outfide  in  earthen  pots.  The  married 
women  are  covered  from  the  waifl:  to  the  knees, 
and  the  girls  are  naked  up  to  the  age  of  twelve 
years  and  fometimes   until  they  are  married,  and 


so  Marquette,  the  firft  to  give  the 
name,  writes  it  Tanilcwa.  The 
Tonicas  were  then  oppofite  Red 
River;  they  were  always  firm  friends 
of  the  French,  but  the  miffionary 
Davion  had  httle  fuccefs  among 
them.  They  expelled  him  at  one 
time  for  deftroying  their  temple, 
though  they  had  not  fufiicient  re- 
verence   for   it   to  build   another. 


They  treacheroully  cut  ofi"  the  Hou- 
mas  foon  after.  In  the  Nat;hcz 
war  they  Hood  by  the  French  and 
were  nearly  deftroycd  by  thcChicka- 
faws.  Their  chief  by  his  fcrvices 
won  a  French  commiflion.  Charle- 
voix Hifl.  de  la  N.  F.,  iii,  433. 
In  1806  there  was  a  remnant  of 
them  at  Avoycllc,  on  the  Red  River. 
Archeeologia  Americana,  u,  115. 


•;  * 


^^^'^^^^''^^MiTii 


/ 


D(mn  the  Mijftjftppi, 


8i 


if 


they  wear  clothes  which  fcarcely  cover  them, 
being  made  after  the  fafhion  of  fringes,  which  they 
limply  place  in  front.  As  for  the  men  they  are 
drefled  in  their  (kins  and  are  very  peaceable  people, 
well  difpofed,  much  attached  to  the  French,  living 
entirely  on  Indian  corn,  they  are  employed  folely 
on  their  fields ;  they  do  not  hunt  like  the  other 
Indians.  The  Indian  corn  of  this  country  grows 
1 5  to  20  feet  high ;  they  gather  it  only  as  they 
need  it.  The  village  of  the  great  chief  is  in  a 
beautiful  prairie.  Sicknefs  was  among  them  when 
we  arrived  there.  One  of  their  chiefs  being  about 
to  die,  M.  de  Montigny  alked  him  through  an 
interpreter  whether  he  widied  to  be  baptized,  to 
which  he  replied  that  he  defired  to  be.  Having 
given  alfo  fome  tokens  of  his  defire,  he  was  baptized 
and  died  the  next  day.  They  were  dying  in  great 
numbers.  They  inter  their  dead  and  the  relations 
come  to  weep  with  thole  of  the  houfe,  and  in  the 
evening  they  weep  over  the  grave  of  the  departed 
and  make  a  fire  there  and  pafs  their  hands  over  it, 
crying  out  and  -eeping.  Mr.  Da-  ion  has  eftablilhed 
his  miflion  in  this  place;  they  have  a  temple  on  a 
little  hill ;  we  v  cnt  tlirre  to  fee  it :  there  are  earthen 
figures  which  are  fhelr  manitous.  We  fpent  eight 
days  in  this  village  and  fet  out  to  go  to  the 
Taenfas,  \'^l)o  are  twenty  leagues  lower  down.  We 
went  to  pafs  the  night  below  the  river  on  the  bank 
of  the  Miciffipi,  where  we  caught  their  ficknefs  by 
the  great  abundance  of  rain  which  lafted  a  long 
time,  and  it  rained  fo  violently  for  two  days  that 


82 


St,  Cofmis  Voyage 


we  were  obliged  to  make  a  bed  for  Mr.  de  Mon- 
tigny  on  logs  of  wood.  He  was  fo  lick  that  when 
he  wished  to  get  up  he  fainted  every  moment. 
We  had  nothing  to  eat  but  Indian  corn  boiled  in 
water ;  a  part  of  our  people  were  hunting,  weary 
and  fick  as  they  were.  One  of  them  got  loft  in 
the  woods  and  flept  out ;  [while]  they  were  looking 
for  him,  I  went  hunting,  and  killed  fome  little  game, 
but  Mr.  de  Montigny  would  not  eat  it.  We  ftarted 
from  this  place  and  when  evening  came  we  were 
all  fick.  The  next  day  we  arrived  at  the  portage 
of  the  Taenfas,  which  is  a  league  long,  where  we 
flept.  I  had  the  fever  as  well  as  the  reft  of  them. 
On  the  2ift  we  arrived  at  the  Taenfas.  It  is  a 
league  by  land  and  two  by  water.  They  are  on 
the  fliore  of  a  lake  three  leagues  from  the  Miciflipi. 
They  are  very  humane  and  docile  people.  Their 
chief  died  not  long  before  we  arrived.  It  is  their 
cuftom  to  put  to  death  [many]  on  this  account. 
They  told  us  that  they  had  put  to  death  thirteen 
on  the  death  of  the  one  who  died  laft.  For  this 
purpofe  they  put  a  root  in  the  fire  to  burn,  and 
when  it  is  confumed  they  kill  him  with  tomahawks. 
The  Natchez,  who  are  twelve  leagues  lower  down, 
put:  men  to  death  on  the  death  of  their  chief  It 
miift  be  avowed  that  they  are  very  foolifli  to  al- 
low themfelves  to  be  killed  in  this  way ;  yet  it  is 
a  thing  they  efteem  as  great  honour  and  noble- 
heartednefs.  They  have  a  pretty  large  temple,  with 
three  columns  well  made,  ferpents  and  other  like 
fuperftitions.     The  temple  is  encircled  by  an  enclo- 


\'' 


Down  the  Mijftjftppi. 


83 


fure  made  like  a  wall,  it  is  almoft  covered  with  fkulls. 
They  would  not  let  us  enter,  faying,  that  thofe 
who  entered  died.  We  entered  half  by  force,  half 
by  confent.  The  girls  and  women  are  drefled  like 
thofe  I  have  mentioned  before,  and  even  worfe,  for 
we  faw  fome  25  and  30  years  old  quite  naked. 

We  left  there  on  the  27th  to  return  to  the  To- 
nicas;  Mr.  de  Montigny  and  Mr.  de  St.  Cofme 
refolved  to  go  up  together  to  bring  down  the  things 
left  at  Chicagou  where  Brother  Alexander  had  re- 
mained to  guard  them,  becaufe  there  was  no  water 
in  the  river  of  the  Illinois.  We  brought  only  a 
canoe  load  of  abfolute  necefTaries,  which  we  had  to 
carry  for  the  diflance  of  fifteen  leagues.  We  had 
good  cheer  this  fall  returning  up  the  MicifTipi. 
One  of  our  men  was  bitten  by  a  rattle  fnake  on  our 
way  back  from  the  Taenfas.  It  gave  him  no 
trouble,  for  Mr.  de  Montigny,  who  was  at  hand, 
gave  him  a  remedy  to  counteract  the  efFed:  of  the 
poifon.  In  the  rivers  of  the  Acanfeas  and  Tunicas 
and  in  lake  Taenfas,  the  alligator  is  in  fo  great 
numbers,  that  you  will  fee  thirty  together :  he  is 
the  moft  frightful  mafter  fifti  that  can  be  feen.  He 
is  made  like  a  toad.  I  faw  one  that  was  as  large 
as  a  half  hogfhead.  There  are  fome,  they  fay,  as 
large  a  hogfhead  and  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  long.  I 
have  no  doubt  they  would  fwallow  a  man  up  if 
they  caught  him. 

There  were  fome  Illinois  villages  that  wifhed  to 
oppofe  our  voyage,  but  they  gained  nothing ;  we 
paffed  on  in  fpite  of  them  and  their  envy.     Mr.  de 


8+ 


St,  Cofmis  Voyage 


Tonty  kindly  accompanied  our  gentlemen  as  far  as 
the  Acanfeas.  We  were  a  ftrong  party,  and  going 
up  the  Illinois  river  we  came  near  being  plundered 
by  the  Miamis.  They  boafted  that  they  would 
rob  us  as  we  came  up  the  Illinois  river.  We  are 
not  in  the  humour  of  letting  ourfelves  be  plundered. 
We  are  thirty  men  to  defcend  the  river  of  the  Illi- 
nois. There  are  as  many  people  at  the  Tamarois 
as  at  Kcbeq.  Mr.  do  St.  Cofme  is  at  the  Tamarois, 
which  is  eight  leagues  from  the  Illinois.  It  is  the 
largeft  village  that  we  have  feen.  There  are  about 
300  cabins  there. 

We  arrived  on  Maundy  Thurfday  at  Chicagou 
after  making  thirty  leagues  by  land.  It  rained 
during  the  laft  two  days  of  our  march.  Mr.  de 
Montigny  was  much  fatigued  and  I  was  no  lefs  fo. 
Much  good  can  be  done  in  the  miffions  lower 
down,  namely,  at  the  Akanfeas,  Tonicas  and  Ta- 
enfas,  and  feveral  other  nations  that  are  in  their 
vicinity.  I  believe  fo,  and  they  fay  that  we  are 
fpirits.  Mr.  de  Montigny  intended  to  fee  all  the 
nations  and  to  go  to  the  fea.  Having  learnt  that 
three  Frenchmen  had  been  lately  killed  and  we  all 
being  fick,  he  probably  did  not  deem  it  proper. 
He  is  going  to  relide  at  the  Taenfas,  about  one 
hundred  leagues  diftant  from  the  fea,  and  I  even 
believe  that  he  will  go  there.  All  his  party  are  lb 
pleafed  with  him,  that  he  finds  more  people  than 
he  17  .ds,  v/herever  he  willies  to  go.  On  ftarting 
from  the  Illinois  in  the  month  of  April,  four  voy- 
ageui  J  came  exprefs  to  accompany  him,  and  as  he 


.    \\ 


1  ; 


4 


il^giwiiim  . 


/ 


- 


"       J  ; 


Down  the  MiJJiJJippi, 

was  fatigued  they  wiflbed  to  carry  him,  which  he 
would  not  fuffer,  and  went  on  afoot,  I  will  tell 
you  that  Mr.  de  Montigny  took  a  boy  twelve  or 
fifteen  years  old  with  him,  who  got  loft  while 
making  the  firft  portage  in  the  prairies.  Mr.  de  St. 
Cofme  remained  with  five  men  and  fpent  two  days 
looking  for  him  without  being  able  to  find  him, 
and  during  this  time  I  and  two  others  with  Mr. 
de  Montigny  made  a  portage  of  two  leagues.  This 
boy  made  his  way  to  Chicagou,  where  Brother 
Alexander  was,  thirteen  days  after.  He  was  utterly 
exhaufted  and  was  out  of  his  head. 

Thefe  people  had  their  women  and  girls  drefTed 
like  the  Tonicas.  Mr.  de  Montigny  inclines  to 
put  me  at  the  Tamarois  with  Mr.  de  St.  Cofme. 
I  fhould  not  be  difpleafed.  It  was  fuppofed  at  the 
Outraois  that  Mr.  Diberville  had  come  by  fea  to 
the  mouth  of  the  MicifTipi,  but  we  have  heard  no 
tidings  of  him,  except  what  I  have  related  above. 
The  Miamis  are  trying  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  us, 
but  we  do  not  know  what  will  come  of  it.  We 
are  to  ftart  from  Chicagou  on  Eafter  Monday.  The 
finefl  country  that  we  have  feen  is  all  from  Chicagou 
to  the  Tamarois.  It  is  nothing  but  prairies  and 
clumps  of  wood  as  far  as  you  can  fee.  I  will 
mention  alfo,  that  many  Canadians  marry  among 
the  Illinois. 

I  fhall  not  come  down  within  two  years  to  know 
whether  .they  will  fettle  this  country.  It  is  per- 
fedlly  charming.     We  did  not  perceive  that  it  was 

M 


I  I 


lis. 


86 


St,  Co/me's  Foyage, 


winter.  The  peach  trees  were  in  blofTom  at  the 
Tonicas  in  the  month  of  January.  They  arc  fo 
plentiful  in  the  village  of  the  Taenfas  that  they  cut 
them  down.  There  are  alfo  pearls  which  are  very 
iine.  I  believe  that  they  are  precious,  yet  they 
pierce  them  to  firing  them.  I  clofe,  fearing  to 
tire  you,  and  fubfcribe  myfelf, 

Your  very  humble  and  very  obd*  ferv*. 

La  Source.^* 

S»  The  Rev.  Dominic  Thaumur    was  ordained  there.     Charlevoix 
de  la  Source  had  been  a  pupil  of    found  him  at  Cahokia  in  1721. 
Father  Charlevoix  at  Quebec,  and 


r. 


It 


in. 


LE   SUEUR'S    VOYAGE 
UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI, 

IN     1699-1700. 


\  ' 


/ 


VOYAGE  UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

IN     I 699- I 700, 

BY  .        ^ 

M.v.    LE   SUEUR," 

AS  GIVEN  BY  BBNARD  DE  LA  HARPE,  FROM  LE  SUEUR's  JOURNAL. 

•R.  Le  Sueur  arrived  with  thirty  workmen 
in  the  Renommee  and  Gironde,  Dec'"  7, 
1699.  He  had  acquired  renown  by  his 
voyages  in  Canada ;  he  was  fent  on  behalf  of 
Mr.  L'huillier,  Farmer-general,  to  form  an 
eftablifhment  at  the  fource  of  the  Mifliffipi.  The 
objedl  of  this  enterprize  was  to  work  a  mine  of 


I  w 


I  Le  Sueur  wsts  a  Canadian  C^i- 
baud),  and  a  kinfman  of  Iberville 
(Charlevoix,  ii,  4.13);  not  his 
father  as  Neill,  of  little  French  and 
lefs  courtcfy,  ignorantly  fays  (Hifl. 
cf  Minnejota,  154,  n).  The  firft 
allufion  that  I  find  to  him  is  in 
1693,  when  he  was  a  voyageur  fta* 
tioncd  at  Chegoimegon,  and  from 
his  knowledge  of  the  Dakotah  em- 
ployed to  maintain  peace  between 
the  Chippeways  and  Dakotas  (N, 


T.  Col.  Doc,  IX,  570).  His  fub 
fequent  adventures  are  (ketched  in 
the  text.  He  returned  to  France 
with  Iberville  in  1702,  and  died 
fome  years  after  while  again  on  his 
way  to  Louifiana  (La  Harpe,  21). 
Neill,  by  a  blunder  though  citing 
La  Harpe,  makes  him  die  in  Louifi- 
ana. The  Le  Sueur  who  figured 
in  the  Natchez  war  is  therefore,  in 
all  probability,  a  different  perfon. 


\  \ 


.^^... 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


1^12^8     |2.5 

•Uuu 

U    11.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


S^ 


\ 


S> 


IV^     ^\^\ 


%  ». 


?u^\.  ^^.  ^ 


^^^ 


■^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSIER.N.Y.  14580 

(716)873-4503 


4^ 


'% 


^ 


^ 


^ 


^ 


90  Lie  Sueur* s  Voyage 

green  earth'  that  Mr.  Le  Sueur  had  difcovered. 
What  gave  rife  to  this  enterprife  as  far  back  as  the 
year  1695,  was  this.  Mr.  Lc  Sueur  by  order  of 
the  Count  de  Frontenac,  Governor  General  of 
Canada,  built  a  fort  on  an  ifland  in  the  Mifliflipi, 
more  than  200  leagues  above  the  Illinois,  in  order 
to  effect  a  peace  between  the  Sauteurs^  nations  who 
dwell  on  the  fhores  of  a  lake  of  five  hundred  leagues 
circumference/  one  hundred  leagues  eaft  of  the  river 
and  the  Scioux,  pofted  on  the  Upper  Mifliflipi.  The 
fame  year,  according  to  his  orders,  he  went  down 
to  Montreal  in  Canada  with  a  Sauteur  chief  named 
Chingouab^  and  a  Sciou  named  Ciofcate,  who  was 
the  firft  of  his  nation  who  had  feen  Canada ;  and  as 
they  hoped  to  derive  from  his  country  many  articles 
of  value  in  commerce,  the  Count  de  Frontenac,  the 
Chevalier  de  la  Calliere  and  M.  de  Champigny, 
received  him  quite  well.  Two  days  after  their 
arrival  they  prefented  io  the  Count  de  Frontenac 
in  a  public  affembly  as  many  arrows  as  there  were 
Scioux  villages,  and  they  told  him  that  all  thefe 
villages  begged  him  to  receive  them  among  his 
children,  as  he  had  done  the  other  nations  whom 
they    named  in   fucceflion,   which   was   granted. 


*  A  mine  of  green  earth  feems  a 
queer  and  not  over-valuable  difco- 
very,  but  thefe  colored  marls,  blue, 
green  and  yellow,  owing  their  color 
to  filicate  of  iron,  were,  when  free 
from  fand,  highly  efteemed  and  ufed 
as  paint  by  the  Indians,  and  were 
confequendy  a  good  article  of  trade. 


3  Ojibwas  or  Chippewas.  The 
French  called  them  Sauteux,  and 
later  Sauteurs,  not  meaning  Leapers, 
asibme  have  faid  who  prefer  gueflP 
ing  to  refearch,  but  from  their  refi- 
dence  at  Saut  Ste  Marie. 


4  Lake  Superior. 


up  the  MfJftjffippL  91 

M.  Le  Sueur  was  to  go  up  to  the  Mifnilipi  in 
1 696,  with  this  Sciou  chief,  who  had  come  down 
folely  on  a  promife  that  he  fhould  be  taken  home 
again,  but  he  fell  fick  during  the  winter  and  died 
at  Montreal  after  thirty-three  days*  fuffering.  As 
Mr.  Le  Sueur  was  difpenfed  by  this  man's  death 
from  returning  to  that  country,  where  he  had 
difcovered  mines  of  lead,  copper,  blue  and  green 
earth,  he  refolved  to  go  to  France,  and  to  folicit  at 
court  permiffion  to  work  them.  This  he  obtained 
in  1697.  He  embarked  at  Rochelle  in  the  latter 
part  of  June  in  that  year  to  go  to  Canada.  Off  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland  he  was  taken  by  an  Eng- 
lifh  fleet  of  fixteen  veiTels  and  carried  prifoner  to 
Portfmouth ;  but  peace  being  declared,  he  returned 
to  Paris  to  get  a  new  commiffion,  for  he  had  thrown 
his  old  one  overboard,  for  fear  of  giving  the  Eng- 
lifh  any  information  as  to  his  plan.  The  Court 
ordered  a  new  commiffion  to  iilue  in  1698.  He 
then  went  to  Canada,  where  he  met  obftacles  which 
compelled  him  to  return  to  France.^  During  all 
thefe  contradidions  a  part  of  the  people  whom  he 
had  left  in  charge  of  the  fort  which  he  had  built 
in  1695,  hearing  nothing  of  him,  defcended  to 
Montreal. 

We  have  feen  above  that  he  arrived  in  the  colony 
[of  Louifiana]  in  the  month  of  December,  1699, 
with  a  party  of  thirty  miners.  On  the  loth  of 
February,  1702,  he  arrived  [?  at  Fort  Biloxi^  ]  with 


5  Frontenac  prevented  his  going 
well  and  the  Court  approved  the 
Governor's  action  in  the  matter,. 


6  Orders  came  on  the  18th  De- 
cember, 1701,  to  evacuate  Biloxi 
and  fetde  on  the  Mobile,  and  Bien- 


k 


92  Le  Sueur's  Voyage 

two  thoufand  quintals  of  blue  and  green  earth, 
having  come  from  the  Scioux.  The  following  is 
an  extradl:  from  the  relation  of  his  voyage : 

He  could  not  reach  the  Tamarois  till  the  month 
of  June  1700,  having  made  a  confiderable  diflance 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  that  point.  He  left 
there  July  12th,  1700,  with  a  felucca  and  two  ca- 
noes manned  by  nineteen  perfons. 

On  the  1 3th,  having  advanced  fix  leagues  and  a 
quarter,  he  halted  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mifiburi 
river,  and  fix  leagues  above  he  left  on  the  eaft  of 
the  river  the  river  of  the  Illinois ;  he  there  met 
three  Canadian  voyageurs  who  were  coming  to  join 
his  party :  he  received  by  them  a  letter  from  the 
Jefuit  Father  Mareft,  dated  July  10,  1700,  at  the 
Mifiion  of  thb  Immaculate  Conception  of  the 
Blefied  Virgin  at  the  Illinois,  to  this  effe(ft. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  write  you  to  inform  you 
that  the  Sangieftas^  have  been  defeated  by  the 
Scioux  and  Ayavois.*  Thefe  people  have  combined 
with  the  Quincapoux,  and  a  part  of  the  Mecon- 
tins,9  Foxes  and  Metefigamias,'°  and  are  going  to 
avenge  themfelvcs,  not  on  the  Scioux,  of  whom 
they  are  too  much  afraid,  but  on  the  Ayavois,  or 


ville  fet  out  with  the  garrifon  on  the 
6th  January,  1702,  leaving  only 
twenty  foldiers  under  de  Bois  Bril- 
lant  at  Biloxi.  It  is  probable  how- 
ever that  La  Harpe  means  the  Le- 
fueur  arrived  at  Biloxi. 


8  Written  in  fome  other  early 
accounts  Ainoves ;  they  are  the 
lowas,  who  have  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  give  their  name  to  a  State, 

9  Kickapoos  and  Mafcoutin;. 


7  Probah'     n  error  for  Sauteux.         10  Metchigameas. 


a 


(( 


« 


I< 


« 


« 


up  the  MifftfftppL  93 

"elfe  on  the  Paoutees,"  or  rather  on  the  Ofages, 
for  thefe  lafl  fufpedt  nothing  and  the  others  are  on 
their  guard ;  as  you  may  meet  the  alhed  nations, 
"you  muft  guard  againfl  their  enterprifes,  and 
prevent  their  getting  in  your  boats,  being  traitors, 
and  unfaithful  to  their  word ;  I  beg  God  to  attend 
you  in  all  your  defigns." 
Twenty-two  leagues  above  the  river  of  the  Illi- 
nois he  pafTed  a  fmall  river  which  he  named  Riviere 
aux  Boeufs.'^  Nine  leagues  further  he  pafTed  on 
the  left  a  fmall  river  and  met  four  Canadians  going 
down  the  MifliiTipi  to  reach  the  Illinois. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  nine  leagues  above  the  lad 
river,  he  met  feventeen  Scioux  in  feven  canoes,  who 
were  going  to  avenge  the  death  of  three  Scioux, 
one  of  whom  had  been  burnt  and  the  others  killed 
at  the  Tamarois,  a  fhort  time  before  his  arrival  at 
that  village;  as  he  had  promifed  the  chief  of  the 
Illinois  to  appeafe  the  Scioux,  who  might  be  coming 
in  war  againft  his  nation,  he  made  the  chief  of  this 
party  a  prefent  of  fome  goods  to  induce  him  to  re- 
turn. He  told  him  that  the  King  of  France  did 
not  wi(h  this  river  to  be  any  more  fullied  with 
blood,  and  that  he  had  fent  him  to  tell  them  that 
if  they  obeyed  his  word,  whatever  was  neceffary  to 
them  (hould  hereafter  be  given  to  them.  The 
chief  replied  that  he  accepted  the  prefent,  that  is  to 
fay,  that  he  would  do  what  they  told  him. 

II  Firft  mentioned  by  Marquette     bably  the  Padoucas  or  Comanches. 
as  the  Pahoutet.     They  were  pro-         la  >Salt  River. 

N 


94  Le  Sueur* s  Voyage 

From  the  30th  of  July  to  the  25th  of  Auguft,  Mr 
Le  Sueur  made  52!  leagues  to  a  little  river  which 
he  called  Riviere  a  la  Mine;' 3  it  comes  from  the 
north  to  its  mouth  and  turns  from  it  to  the  N.  E. 
Seven  leagues  on,  to  the  right,  there  is  a  lead  mine  in 
a  prairie,  a  league  and  a  half  inland ;  this  river,  ex- 
cept the  firft  three  leagues,  is  navigable  only  when 
the  water  is  high,  that  is  to  fay,  from  early  ipring 
to  the  month  of  June. 

From  the  25th  to  the  27th  he  made  ten  leagues, 
paflTed  two  fmall  rivers,  and  made  examination  of  a 
lead  mine,  of  which  he  took  a  fupply. 

From  the  27th  to  the  30th  he  made  eleven 
leagues  and  a  half  and  met  five  Canadians,  one  of 
whom  was  dangeroufly  wounded  in  the  head;  they 
were  naked  and  had  no  arms  except  a  wretched 
gun,  with  five  or  fix  charges  of  powder  and  ball. 
They  faid  that  they  were  defcending  from  the 
Scioux  to  go  to  the  Tamarois,  and  that  forty 
leagues  above  they  had  perceived  on  the  Mifiifiippi 
nine  canoes,  carrying  ninety  Indians,  who  had 
plundered  and  cruelly  beaten  them ;  this  party  were 
going  to  war  againfl  the  Scioux.  It  was  made  up 
of  four  different  nations,  Outagamis,  Saquis,  Pou- 
tuatamis  and  Puans,'^  who  inhabit  a  country  eighty 
leagues  eafl  of  the  river  and  of  the  point  where 
Mr.  Le  Sueur  then  was.  Thefe  Canadians  refolved 
to  follow  the  detachment,  which  was  thus  com- 


13  ?  Fever  River. 


14  Foxes,  Sacs, 
and  Winnebagoes. 


Pottawatcoinies 


\ 


■ 


up  the  Mifftfftppi,  ,  95 

pofed  of  28  men.     That  day  he  made  four  leagues 
and  a  half. 

On  the  I  ft  of  September  he  paflcd  the  River  of 
the  Ouefconfins;*s  it  comes  from  the  N.  E.  to  its 
mouth  and  turns  to  the  Baft.  It  is  almoft  every- 
where a  league  and  a  half  wide.  About  forty-five 
leagues  up  this  river  on  the  right  is  a  portage  of 
more  than  a  league  in  length.  The  half  of  this 
portage  is  a  bog ;  at  the  end  of  this  portage  there 
is  a  little  river  that  falls  into  a  bay  called  the  Bay  of 
the  Puans,**  inhabited  by  a  great  number  of  nations 
that  carry  their  furs  to  Canada.  It  was  by  the 
river  of  the  Ouefconfins  that  Mr.  Le  Sueur  came 
into  the  Miffiffippi  for  the  firft  time  in  1683,  to  go 
to  the  country  of  the  Scioux,  where  he  has  at  vari- 
ous times  fpent  feven  years.  The  [Miffiffippi]  river 
oppofite  the  mouth  of  this  river  is  only  about  an 
eighth  of  a  league  wide. 

From  the  ift  to  the  5th  of  September  our  trav- 
eller advanced  fourteen  leagues:  he  paffed  the 
Riviere  aux  Canots,'^  which  comes  from  the  north 
eaft,  then  that  of  the  Quincapous/'  fo  called  from 
the  name  of  a  nation,  which  formerly  dwelt  on  its 
bank. 

From  the  5th  to  the  9th,  he  made  ten  leagues 
and  a  half  and  paiTed  the  Riviere  Cachee*'  and  that 

«S  Wifconfin.  17  ?  The  Bad  Axe. 

»6Thatis  Bay  of  the  Winnebagoes        i8  ?  The  Raccoon, 
or  Green  Bay. 

i9?TheLaCrofle.* 


,; 


96 


Le  Sueur's  Voyage 


aux  Ailes  :*°  the  fame  day  he  perceived  canoes  full 
of  Indians  defcending  the  river.  The  five  Cana- 
dians recognized  thofe  who  had  plundered  them ; 
fentinels  were  placed  in  the  woods,  for  fear  of  a 
furprife  from  the  land,  and  when  they  were  within 
hailing  diftance,  the  party  called  out  to  them,  that 
if  they  came  any  nearer  they  would  fire  on  them. 
They  ranged  themfelves  along  the  ifland,  within 
half  gunfhot.  Soon  after  four  of  the  moil  diftin- 
guifhed  in  the  band  advanced  in  a  canoe  and  afked 
whether  we  had  forgotten  that  they  were  our 
brethren,  and  why  we  had  taken  up  arms  when  we 
perceived  them.  Mr.  Le  Sueur  told  them  in  reply 
that  after  what  they  had  done  to  the  five  Frenchmen, 
who  were  prefent,  he  had  reafon  to  diflrufl  them. 
Yet  for  the  fecurity  of  his  trade,  being  under  the 
abfolute  necefTity  of  being  in  peace  with  all  the 
nations,  he  would  not  make  reprifals  for  the  rob- 
bery which  they  had  committed ;  he  only  added 
that  the  King  their  mafler  and  his,  wifhed  all  his 
fubjedts  to  travel  on  that  river  without  receiving 
any  infult ;  that  therefore  they  (hould  take  care  of 
what  they  were  doing.  The  Indian  who  had  been 
fpokefman  feemed  confounded  and  made  no  reply ; 
another  merely  faid  that  they  had  been  attacked  by 
the  Scioux,  who  had  forced  them  to  abandon  all 
their  baggage,  and  that  if  he  did  not  take  pity  on 
them  by  giving  them  a  little  powder,  they  could 
not  reach  their  village.      Confideration  for  [the 

so  Perhaps  River  aux  Ailx,  as  a     called  from  the  wild  onions  growing 
cape  of  that  name  is  mentioned,  fc     there. 


\    \ 


VK 


t 


up  the  Miffifftppu  97 

fafety  of]  a  miflionary  who  was  to  go  up  to  the 
Scioux,  and  whom  thefe  Indians  might  meet,  made 
him  give  them  two  pounds  of  powder.  Mr.  Le 
Sueur  made  the  fame  day  three  leagues,  pafTed  a 
little  river  weft  of  the  great  river,  then  a  large  one  on 
the  eaft  of  the  Miflilfipi,  which  is  navigable  at  all 
times.  The  Indian  nations  that  know  it  called  it 
Red  River." 

On  the  loth  at  day  break  they  heard  a  ftag 
whiftle  on  the  other  fide  of  the  river ;  a  Canadian 
crofTed  in  a  little  Sciou  canoe  that  he  had  found; 
he  foon  after  returned  with  the  body  of  the  animal, 
which  it  is  eaiy  to  kill  in  the  rutting  feafon,  that  is 
from  the  beginning  of  September  to  the  end  of 
Auguft.  During  that  time  the  hunters  make  a 
little  whiftle  of  the  firft  bit  of  wood  or  cane,  and 
when  they  hear  a  ftag  whiftle,  they  anfwer ;  the 
animal  fuppofing  it  to  be  another  ftag  that  whiftles, 
comes  to  them  and  they  kill  it  without  any  diffi- 
culty. 

From  the  loth  to  the  14th  Mr.  Le  Sueur  made 
feventeen  leagues  and  a  half,  paffed  Riviere  des 
Raiiins'*  and  that  of  the  Paquilenettes  :^3  the  fame 
day  he  left  on  the  eaft  of  the  river,  a  large  and 
beautiful  river,  wiik  a  comes  a  great  diftance  from 
the  north,  and  called  Bon  Secours,'^  from  the  great 


«i  Black  River. 

a»  Neill  thinks  diis  the  Wa-^i  Ozu. 

*3  The  Buffalo  River,  according 
tp  Neill. 


24  Neill  fuppofes  this  to  be  the 
Chippeway,  but  Shumard  thinks  the 
Chippeway  river  to  be  the  next  one 
mentioned. 


98 


Le  Sueur* 5  Voyage 


numbers  of  Buffalo,  Aags,  bears  and  deer  found 
there ;  three  leagues  up  this  river  there  is  a  lead 
mine,  and  feven  leagues  higher  on  the  fame  Hde, 
you  meet  another  river  of  great  length,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  which  there  is  a  copper  mine 
from  which  he  took  a  mafs  of  fixty  pounds  in  his 
previous  voyages.  To  render  it  profitable  a  peace 
would  have  to  be  made  between  the  Scioux  and 
the  Oucagamis,  becaufe  the  latter,  who  live  on  the 
lands  eaft  of  the  MifTifTippi,  pafs  by  this  road  con- 
ftantly  when  going  out  to  war  againfl  the  Scioux. 
In  thefe  quarters,  a  league  and  a  half  from  the 
northweft  fide,  begins  a  lake  fix  leagues  long,  and 
more  than  one  broad.  It  is  called  Lake  Pepin. 
It  is  fkirted  on  the  wefl  by  a  chain  of  mountains ; 
on  the  other  fide  on  the  eafl  you  fee  a  prairie,  and 
on  the  northwefl  of  the  lake  a  fecond  prairie  two 
leagues  long  and  wide ;  near  it  is  a  chain  of  moun- 
tains, which  is  at  leafl  two  hundred  feet  high, 
and  is  more  than  half  a  league  long.  Here  are 
found  many  cavcrns^s  to  which  the  bears  retreat 
in  winter:  moft  of  thefe  caves  are  over  forty  feet 
deep,  and  about  three  or  four  feet  high.  .Some 
have  a  very  narrow  entrance,  and  all  contain  falt- 
petre.  It  would  be  dangerous  to  enter  them  in 
fummer,  becaufe  they  are  full  of  rattlefnakes,  the 
bite  of  which  is  very  dangerous.  Le  Sueur  faw 
fome  of  thefe  fnakes  which  were  fix  feet  long ;  but 
they  do  not  generally  exceed  four  :  they  have  teeth 

*5  Nicolct   has  dcfcribed    thefe    caves,  which  Carver  alfo  mentioned. 


up  the  Mijffifftppi,  99 

like  thofe  of  a  pike,  and  the  gums  full  of  little 
bladders  which  contain  their  venom.  The  Scioux 
(ay  that  they  take  it  every  morning  and  rejedt  it  at 
night ;  they  have  on  the  tail  a  kind  of  fcale  which 
makes  a  noife;  this  is  what  is  called  their  rattle. 
Le  Sueur  made  that  day  feven  leagues  and  a  half, 
and  paiTed  another  river  named  Hiambouxeat^  — 
Onataba,  which  means  River  of  the  flat  rocks-'^ 

On  the  15th  he  crofled  a  fmall  river  and  per- 
ceived in  the  neighborhood  feveral  canoes  full  of 
Indians  coming  down  the  river.  He  at  flrft  took 
them  for  Scioux,  becaufe  he  could  not  diftinguifh 
whether  the  canoes  were  large  or  fmall.  He  made 
his  men  get  their  arms  ready ;  he  foon  after  heard 
the  Indians  giving  the  yells  they  ufually  give  when 
they  rufh  on  their  enemies.  He  replied  in  the  fame 
manner ;  and  after  polling  all  his  men  behind  trees, 
he  forbid  them  to  fire  till  he  gave  the  word.  He 
remained  on  the  water's  edge  to  fee  what  ftep  they 
would  take,  and  perceiving  that  they  put  two  men 
afhore  to  obferve  from  an  eminence  on  the  other 
fide  of  the  river  the  number  of  his  people  and  his 
forces,  he  made  his  party  march  in  and  out  of  the 
wood  continually,  fo  that  they  fhould  take  them  to 
be  more  numerous.  This  fucceeded,  for  as  foon  as 
the  two  Indians  came  down  the  hill,  the  chiefs  of 
the  party  came  forward  bearing  the  calumet,  which 
is  a  fignal  of  peace  among  the  Indians.  They 
faid  that  having  never  feen  the  French  failing  on 

»6  Thelnyan  bofndata  or  Cannon  river,  in  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Neil). 


lOO 


Le  Sueur's  Voyage 


the  MiiTiiTippi  in  boats  like  a  felucca,  they  had 
miftaken  them  for  Englifh  and  had  accordingly 
given  the  war  cry  and  ranged  themfelves  on  the 
other  fide  of  the  river ;  but  feeing  their  miftake  by 
our  flag,  they  had  come  without  fear  to  inform  them 
that  one  of  their  people  who  was  crazy  had  accident- 
ally killed  a  Frenchman  with  a  ball  from  a  eun ;  that 
they  were  going  to  bring  his  comrade,  who  would 
tell  in  what  way  the  accident  happened.  They 
made  this  Frenchman,  who  was  a  Canadian  named 
Denis,  come  :  he  dated  that  his  comrade  had  been 
accidentally  killed  ;  his  name  was  Laplace ;  he  was 
a  foldier  who  deferted  from  Canada  and  had  fled  to 
this  country.  Mr.  Le  Sueur  replied  to  thefe  In- 
dians, that  Onontio  (a  name  they  give  to  all  the 
governors  of  Canada)  being  their  father  and  his, 
they  fliould  not  feek  their  juftification  anywhere 
but  before  him ;  that  he  advifed  them  to  go  and  fee 
him  as  foon  as  poffible  to  beg  him  to  waHi  the  blood 
of  that  Frenchman  from  their  face.  This  party 
was  compofed  of  47  men  of  different  nations,  who 
live  far  to  the  ead  of  the  MifTiffippi,  about  the  44th 
degree  of  latitude.  Mr.  Le  Sueur  knew  the  chiefs 
particularly ;  he  told  them  that  the  king  of  whom 
they  had  fo  often  heard  in  Canada,  had  fent  to  fettle 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  that  he  wifhed  the 
nations  dwelling  on  it,  as  well  as  thofe  which  are 
under  his  proteftion,  to  liye  generally  in  peace.  He 
made  that  day  three  leagues  and  three  quarters. 

On  the  1 6th  he  left  on  the  eaft  of  the  Mifliflipi 
a  great  river  called  St.  Croix,  becaufe  a  Frenchman 


i\ 


up  the  MiJftJftppL  10 1 

of  that  name  was  wrecked  at  its  mouth.  It  comes 
from  the  N.  N.  W. ;  four  leagues  higher  up,  af- 
cending,  you  come  to  a  fmall  lake,  at  the  entrance 
of  which  there  is  a  very  large  mafs  of  copper ;  it  is 
on  the  water's  edge,  in  a  little  bluff  of  fandy  earth, 
weft  of  this  lake. 

From  the  1 6th  to  the  1 9th  he  advanced  thirteen 
leagues  and  three  quarters.  After  having  made 
from  the  Tamarois  two  hundred  and  feven  leagues 
and  a  half,  he  left  the  navigation  of  the  MiiTilTippi 
at  this  point  to  enter  St.  Peter's  River,>7  on  the 
weft  of  the  Mifliftippi,  on  which  he  made  till  the 
I  ft  of  Odtober  forty  four  leagues  and  a  quarter. 
After  which  he  entered  Blue  River,«8  fo  called  by 
reafon  of  the  mines  of  blue  earth  found  at  its  mouth. 
He  made  his  fettlement  at  44  deg.  13  m.  N. 

At  this  fpot  he  met  nine  Scioux,  who  told  him 
that  this  river  was  the  country  of  the  Scioux  of  the 
Weft,  of  the  Avavois  and  the  Otodtatas*9  a  little 
further ;  that  it  was  not  their  cuftom  to  hunt  on  the 
grounds  of  others  without  being  invited  by  thofe  to 
whom  they  belonged ;  that  when  they  fhould  wi(h 
to  come  to  the  fort  to  get  fupplies,  they  would  be 


»7  Many  writers  have  of  late  at- 
tempted to  make  out  that  this  river 
was  called  after  Le  Gardeur  de  Re- 
pentigny,  who  bore  the  name  of 
Mr.  de  St.  Pierre.  Were  it  fo  it 
would  be  ftrange  that  Lefueur  does 
not  mention  the  faft,  as  the  family 
was  an  important  one  in  Canada. 

a8  .Now  called  Mankato  or  Blue 

o 


Earth  River.    See  an  account  of 

this    earth    in  Owen's  Geological 

Survey  of   Wifconfin,  Iowa  and 
Minnefota,  p.  486. 

29  lowas  and  Ottoes  probably. 
The  Otontantas  are  on  Marquette's 
map,  and  arc  evidently  the  Anthou- 
tantas  (reflius  forfan  Authontantas) 
of  Membre. 


102 


Le  Sueur* s  Voyage 


expofed  to  be  cut  off  by  their  enemies  coming  up 
or  going  thefe  rivers,  which  are  narrow ;  and  that 
if  he  wifhed  to  take  pity  on  them,  he  mufl  fettle 
on  the  Mifliflippi  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mouth 
of  St.  Peter's  river,  where  the  Ayavois,  the  Otoc- 
tatas,  and  the  Scioux  could  come  as  well  as  they. 
Having  made  their  fpeech,  they  began,  according 
to  their  cuflom,  to  weep  over  Mr.  Le  Sueur's  head, 
faying,  Oueachijfou  ouaepanimanabo ;  which  means. 
Take  pity  on  us. 

Mr.  Le  Sueur  had  forefeen  that  his  eftabli(hment 
on  the  Blue  river  would  not  be  reliftied  by  the 
Scioux  of  the  Eaft,  who  are,  fo  to  fpeak,  the  mafters 
of  the  other  Scioux  and  of  the  nations  jufl  named, 
becaufe  they  are  firft  with  whom  we  traded,  which 
has  given  them  a  good  fupply  of  guns.  As  he  had 
not  undertaken  the  enterprife  in  the  fole  view  of 
the  beaver  trade,  but  to  learn  thoroughly  the  quality 
of  the  different  mines  which  he  had  formerly  dis- 
covered, he  told  them  that  he  was  forry  he  had  not 
known  their  ideas  fooner;  that  it  was  clearly  jud, 
as  he  had  come  expreHly  for  them,  for  him  to  fettle 
on  their  land ;  but  the  feafon  was  too  far  fpent  to 
retrace  his  (leps.  He  then  made  them  a  prefent  of 
powder,  balls,  knives,  and  a  fathom  of  tobacco,  to 
invite  to  come  as  foon  as  poHible  to  the  fort  that  he 
was  going  to  erc<ft ;  that  there,  when  they  were  all 
affembled,  he  would  tell  them  the  intentions  of  the 
king,  their  mader  and  his. 

The  Scioux  of  the  Weft  have,  according  to  the 
reports  of  thofe  of  the  £aft,  more  than  a  thoufand 


" 


\  '• 


^ 


up  the  Mifftfftppi,  103 

cabins.  They  do  not  ufe  canoes,  cultivate  the 
earth,  or  gather  wild  oats ;  they  generally  keep  to 
the  prairies  between  the  Upper  Mifliflippi  and  the 
River  of  the  Miflburis,  and  live  folely  by  hunting. 

All  the  Scioux  in  general  fay  that  they  have  three 
fouls,  and  that  after  death,  that  which  has  done  good 
goes  to  the  warm  countries,  that  which  has  done 
evil  to  the  cold  countries,  and  the  other  keeps  the 
body.  Polygamy  is  in  ufe  among  them ;  they  are 
very  jealous,  and  fometimes  fight  duels  for  their 
women.  They  handle  the  bow  very  expertly, 
and  were  feveral  times  feen  to  (hoot  ducks  on  the 
wing.  They  make  their  cabins  of  feveral  buffalo 
fkins,  laced  and  fewed  together ;  they  carry  them 
every  where  with  them :  in  each  cabin  there  are 
ordinarily  two  or  three  men  with  their  families. 
They  are  all  great  fmokers,  but  their  mode  of 
fmoking  differs  from  that  of  the  other  Indians; 
there  are  fome  Scioux  who  fwallow  all  the  tobacco 
fmoke,  and  others  who  after  having  fwallowed  and 
kept  it  fome  time  in  the  ftomach,  ejedt  it  through 
the  nofe.  " 

On  the  3d  of  the  fame  month  he  received  at 
the  fort  feveral  Scioux,  among  whom  was  Ouacanta- 
pai,3o  chief  of  the  village.  Soon  after  two  Canadians 
who  had  gone  hunting  arrived;  they  had  been 
robbed  by  the  Scioux  of  the  Eaft,  who  had  taken 
away  their  guns  in  revenge  for  Mr.  Le  Sueur's 
fettling  on  Blue  river.     On  the  14th  the  fort  was 

30  The  root   is   here   evidently     facred. 
Wakonda,  God,  fpirit,  myflerious. 


I 


104  Le  Sueur's  Voyage 

finifhcd;    the  name  of  Fort   L'huiller  was  con- 
ferred upon  it. 

On  the  2 2d  two  Canadians  were  fent  out  to  invite 
the  Ayavois  and  the  Otodatas  to  come  and  make  a 
village  near  the  fort,  becaufe  thefe  Indians  are  la- 
borious and  accuftomed  to  cultivate  the  ground, 
and  he  hoped  to  obtain  provifions  from  them  and 
make  them  work  the  mines. 

On  the  24th  arrived  (ix  Oujalefpoitous  Scioux ; 
they  wiflied  to  enter  the  fort,  but  they  were  pre- 
vented and  told  that  men  who  had  killed  French- 
men could  not  be  received ;  this  is  the  term  em- 
ployed when  they  have  offered  any  infult.  The 
next  day  they  came  to  Mr.  Le  Sueur's  cabin  to  beg 
him  to  take  pity  on  them.  They  wifhed  according 
to  their  cuftom  to  weep  over  his  head  and  make 
him  a  prefent  of  fome  packages  of  beaver,  which 
he  refufed ;  he  faid  that  he  was  aflonifhed  that  men 
who  had  robbed  him  (hould  have  the  temerity  to 
come  to  him ;  to  which  they  replied  that  they  had 
indeed  heard  that  the  French  had  been  plundered, 
but  that  none  from  their  village  had  been  prefent 
at  this  wicked  adt.  Mr.  Le  Sueur  told  them  that 
he  knew  that  it  was  the  Mendeouacantous  who  had 
killed  him  and  not  the  OUjalefpoitous ;  "  but  you 
are  Scioux"  he  continued,  "  they  were  Scioux  who 
robbed  me,  and  if  I  followed  your  manner  of  ading 
**  I  would  tomahawk  you ;  for  is  it  not  true  that  when 
any  ftrangers  (fo  they  call  the  Indians  who  are  not 
Scioux)  have  done  any  wrong  to  a  Mendeouacan- 
tou,  OUjalefpoitou  or  other  Sciou,  all  the  villages 


« 


« 


C( 


(C 


(( 


up  the  MifftJftppL  1 05 

**  avenge  it  on  the  firft  they  meet."  As  there  was 
nothing  to  be  faid  In  reply  to  what  he  told  them, 
they  had  recourfe  to  tears  and  repeated  according 
to  cuflom,  Ouaechijfou  ouaepanimanabo !  Mr.  Le 
Sueur  told  them  to  ftop  their  crying ;  he  added  that 
the  French  were  good-hearted,  and  that  he  had 
come  into  the  country  only  to  take  pity  on  them ; 
at  the  fame  time  he  made  them  a  prefent,  telling 
them :  "  Carry  back  your  beaver,  and  tell  all  the 
"Scioux  that  they  fhall  have  no  more  powder  or 
"  ball  from  me,  and  that  they  (hall  no  more  fmoke 
"  my  calumet  (that  is  to  fay,  we  (hall  be  good 
"friends  no  longer)  till  theylnake  reparation  for 
**  the  plunder  of  the  French." 

The  fame  day  the  two  Canadians  who  had  been 
fent  out  the  2 2d  arrived  without  having  fucceeded 
in  finding  the  road  leading  to  the  Ayavois  and 
Otodtata.  On  the  26th  Mr.  Le  Sueur  proceeded 
to  the  mine,  with  three  canoes  which  he  loaded 
with  blue  and  green  earth.  It  is  drawn  from 
mountains  near  which  are  the  very  abundant  copper 
mines,  of  which  Mr.  L'Huillier,  one  of  the  king's 
farmers  general,  made  an  affay  at  Paris,  in  1696. 
Stones  alTo  are  found  there  which  it  would  be  curi- 
ous to  fee  employed, 

On  the  9th  of  November  eight  Mantantous  Sci- 
oux prefented  themfelves  at  the  fort,  having  been 
fent  by  the  chiefs  of  their  villages  to  fay  that  the 
Mendeouacantous  were  flill  at  their  lake  on  the  lands 
eaft  of  the  Miffiflipi,  and  that  they  could  not  come 
for  a  long  time;  that  all  the  reil  ought  not  to  bear  the 


io6  Le  Sueur's  Voyage 

penalty  of  one  (ingle  village  that  had  not  hacl  fenfe ; 
that  if  he  would  tell  them  in  what  way  he  wi(hed 
to  have  fatiffadtion,  they  would  come  and  make  it. 
Mr.  Le  Sueur  told  them  that  he  was  glad  that  they 
had  fenfe,  and  that  it  was  for  them  to  fee  what 
they  fhould  do. 

On  the  15th  they  faw  two  Mantantous  Scioux 
arrive ;  thefe  Indians  had  been  fent  exprefs  to  an- 
nounce that  all  the  Scioux  of  the  Eaft  and  a  part  of 
thofe  of  the  Weft  had  joined  together  to  come  to 
the  French,  becaufe  they  had  learned  that  the 
Chriftinaux  and  the  Aflinipoils  were  making  war 
on  them.  Thefe  two  nations  live  above  the  fort  on 
the  eaft,  more  than  eighty  leagues  up  the  MifTiflipi. 

The  AfTinipoils  fpeak  Scioux,  and  are  really  of 
that  nation ;  and  it  is  only  within  a  few  years  that 
they  have  been  at  enmity  with  that  people.  The 
origin  of  that  war  was  this.  The  Chriftinaux  hav- 
ing obtained  the  ufe  of  firearms  before  the  Scioux 
by  means  of  the  Englifti  of  Hudfon's  bay,  came 
conftantly  in  war  againft  the  Aftinipoils,  who  were 
their  neareft  neighbors;  the  latter  finding  them- 
felves  weak  afked  peace,  and  to  render  it  more  firm, 
allied  themfelves  to  the  Chriftinaux,  taking  their 
women  to  wife.  The  other  Scioux,  who  had  not 
entered  this  alliance,  and  who  of  all  time  had  been 
at  war  with  them,  continued  it,  fo  that  one  day, 
finding  fbme  Chriftinaux  among  the  AfTinipoils, 
they  tomahawked  them.  It  was  the  Chriftinaux 
who  fupplied  the  AfTinipoils  with  arms  and  goods. 

On  the  1 6th  the  two  Scioux  returned  to  their 


up  the  MiJftJftppU  107 

village,  and  it  was  afcertained  that  the  Ayavois  and 
the  Otodatas  had  gone  to  ftation  themfelves  on  the 
fide  of  the  river  of  Miflburi,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Maha,  a  nation  dwelling  in  thofe  quarters. 

On  the  26th  the  Mantantous  and  Oujalefpoitous 
arrived  at  the  fort.  After  pitching  their  cabin  in 
the  wood,  Ouacantapai  came  to  beg  Mr.  Le  Sueur 
to  come  to  him.  He  there  found  fixteen  men  with 
feveral  women  and  children,  who  had  their  faces 
daubed  with  black.  In  the  middle  of  this  cabin 
were  feveral  buffalo  (kins  that  ferved  as  a  carpet. 
They  made  figns  to  him  to  fit  down,  and  at  the 
fame  time  all  thefe  perfons  began  to  weep  for  half 
a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  then  the  chief  offered  him 
wild  rice  to  eat,  and  according  to  their  cuftom  put 
the  firfl  three  fpoonfuls  in  his  mouth,  after  which 
he  told  him  that  all  thofe  whom  he  faw  prefent  were 
like  himfelf  the  relatives  of  Tiofcate  (this  was  the  name 
of  the  Sciou  whom  Mr.  Le  Sueur  took  to  Canada  in 
1695,  ^"^  ^^o  ^^^^  there  in  1696].  At  this  name 
of  Tiofcate  they  began  to  weep  again,  and  to  wipe 
their  tears  on  Mr.  Le  Sueur's  head  and  fhoulders ; 
after  which  Ouacantapai,  refuming  his  difcourfe, 
told  him  that  Tiofcate  begged  him  to  forget  the 
infult  offered  to  the  French  by  the  Mendeouacan- 
tous,  and  to  have  pity  on  his  brethren,  by  giving 
them  powder  and  ball  to  defend  themfelves  again  ft 
their  enemies  and  to  give  life  to  his  wives  and 
children  who  were  wafting  with  hunger  in  the 
midft  of  a  country  full  of  all  kinds  of  beafts,  having 
nothing  to  kill  them  with.     "  Behold !"  added  this 


tt 


« 


io8  Le  Sueur's  Voyage 

chief,  pointing  to  the  dead  chief's  wives  and  child- 
ren, *' Behold  thy  children,  thy  brethren,  thy  fifters; 
**  it  is  for  thee  to  fee  whether  thou  wifheft  them 
to  live  or  die ;  they  will  live  if  thou  giveft  them 
powder  and  ball,  on  the  contrary  they  will  die  if 
"  thou  refuic  it."  All  thefe  reafons  were  not  needed 
to  induce  Mr.  Le  Sueur  to  yield  to  their  requeft ; 
but  as  the  Scioux  never  anfwer  on  the  fpot,  efpe* 
cially  in  important  matters,  and  as  he  had  to  fpeak 
to  them  about  his  eftabliihment,  he  left  the  cabin 
without  faying  anything,  the  chief  and  all  thofe 
who  were  within  followed  him  to  the  gate  of  the 
fort,  and  after  he  went  in  they  made  the  circuit  of 
the  fort  three  times,  weeping  and  crying  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  Athi^ouanariy  which  means.  My 
father,  take  pity  on  us. 

The  next  day  he  aiTembled  in  the  fort  the  moil 
eminent  of  both  villages,  and  as  it  is  impofUble  to 
reduce  the  Scioux  to  prevent  their  going  to  war, 
except  by  inducing  them  to  cultivate  the  ground, 
he  told  them  that  if  they  wiihed  to  render  them- 
felves  worthy  of  the  king's  protection,  they  muft 
abandon  their  errant  life  and  come  and  form  a  village 
around  his  fettlement,  where  they  would  be  ihel- 
tered  from  the  attacks  of  their  enemies ;  that  to 
facilitate  the  means  of  leading  a  happy  life  there, 
and  fave  them  from  the  pangs  of  hunger,  he  would 
give  them  all  the  corn  neceffary  to  plant  a  good 
deal  of  ground ;  that  the  king,  their  chief  and  his, 
when  fending  him  had  forbidden  him  to  trade  in 
beaver  ikins,  knowing  that  this  hunt  obliged  them 


'.  * 


up  the  Mijffijftppi,  109 

to  fcatter,  and  expofed  them  to  be  killed  by  their 
enemies ;  that  in  confequence  he  had  come  to  I'ettle 
on  Blue  river,  the  neighborhood  of  which  as  they 
had  feveral  times  aflured  him  was  full  of  all  kinds  of 
hearts,  for  the  fkins  of  which  they  would  fupply  all 
their  wants  ;  that  thty  (hould  refledl  that  they  could 
not  do  without  the  goods  of  the  French,  and  that 
the  only  means  not  to  be  deprived  of  them  was  not 
to  make  war  on  nations  allied  to  us ;  and  as  it  is 
the  Indian  cudom  to  accompany  their  words  with 
a  prefent  proportioned  to  the  affair  treated  of,  he 
gave  them  fifty  pounds  of  powder,  and  as  many  of 
balls,  fix  guns,  ten  hatchets,  twelve  fathoms  of  to- 
bacco, and  a  (leel  calumet. 

On  the  ill  of  December  the  Mantantons  invited 
Mr.  Le  Sueur  to  a  great  banquet;  four  of  their 
cabins  had  been  thrown  into  one,  in  which  there 
were  a  hundred  men  feated  around,  each  with  his 
platter  before  him.  After  the  repaft  Oucantapai 
their  chief  made  them  all  fmoke  fucceflively  the 
ftoel  calumet  which  had  been  prefented  to  them ; 
then  he  made  a  prefent  to  Mr.  Le  Sueur  of  a  flave 
and  a  fack  of  wild  rice,  and  pointing  to  his  people 
faid :  "  Behold  the  remnants  of  that  great  village 
"which  thou  didft  formerly  behold  fo  numerous; 
"  all  the  others  have  been  flain  in  war,  and  the  few 
"  men  that  thou  feeft  in  this  cabin  accept  the  pre- 
"  fent  that  thou  makeft  them,  and  are  refolved  to 
"obey  that  great  chief  of  all  the  nations  of  whom 
"  thou  haft  fpoken  to  us ;  thou  muft  therefore  no 
'"longer  regard  us  as  Scioux,  but  as  Frenchmen, 


no 


he  Sueur's  Voyage 


"  and  indead  of  faying  that  the  Scioux  are  wretches 
"  who  have  no  fenfe,  and  fit  only  to  plunder  and 
•*  rob  the  French,  thou  wilt  fay :  My  brothers  are 
"  unhappy  men  who  have  no  fenfe ;  we  muft  try 
"  and  get  them  fome ;  they  rob  us,  but  to  prevent 
*'  them  I  will  take  care  that  they  do  not  lack  iron, 
"  that  is  to  fay  all  kinds  of  goods.  If  thou  doft  this 
'*  I  aiTure  thee  that  in  a  fhort  time  the  Mantantons 
"  will  become  French,  and  will  no  longer  have  the 
**  vices  with  which  thou  reproacheft  them."  Hav- 
ing finifhed  this  harangue  he  covered  his  head  with 
his  robe,  the  others  imitated  him ;  they  wept  for 
their  comrades  (lain  in  war,  and  chanted  a  farewell 
to  their  country  in  fo  mournfull  a  tone  that  one 
could  fcarcely  help  fliaring  their  grief.  Then  Oua- 
cantapai  made  them  fmoke  again,  and  didributed 
among  them  the  prefents  that  had  been  given  to 
them,  and  faid  that  he  was  going  to  the  Mende- 
ouacantons  to  inform  them  of  the  refolution  and  to 
invite  them  to  do  the  fame. 

On  the  1 2th  three  Mendeouacanton  chiefs  and  a 
number  of  Indians  of  the  fame  village  arrived  at  the 
fort,  and  the  next  day  made  a  kind  of  fatiffa<ftion 
for  the  plunder  they  had  committed  on  the  French. 
They  brought  400  pounds  of  beaver  fkins,  and  pro- 
mifed  that  next  fummer,  after  building  canoes,  and 
gathering  in  their  harveft  of  wild  rice,  they  would 
come  to  fettle  near  the  French.  The  fame  day 
they  returned  to  their  village  eail  of  the  Mifliflipi. 


t 


up  the  Mijftfftppi, 


III 


4 


Names  of  the  Sciotdx  Nations  of  the  Eajlern  Part, 
and  their  Signification. 

The  Mantantonsy  which  means  village  oF  the  great 
lake  which  empties  into  a  little  one. 

The  Mendeouacantons,  village  of  the  fpirit  lake. 

The  ^iopetonsy  village  of  a  lake  in  the  river. 

The  PJioumanitons^  village  of  the  feekers  of  wild  rice. 

The  Ouadebatons,  village  of  the  river. 

The  Ouaetemantonsy  village  of  the  people  who  are  ^ 
on  the  point  of  a  lake. 

The  Songafquitonsy  (Siffetoans)  village  of  the  fort. 

Scioux  of  the  Wefiern  Part,  of  whom  we  have 
any  Knowledge. 

The  Touchouaefintonsy  which  means  village  of  the 

perch. 
The  PJinchatonSy  village  of  the  red  wild  rice. 
The  Oujatefpouetons,  village  difnerfed  in  feveral  little 

bands 
The  PJinontanhinhintonSy  villaje  of  the  great  wild 

rice. 
The  Tintangaonghiatonsy  (Titonwans)  village  of  the 

great  cabin. 
The  Ouaepetonsy  ( Warpetwans)  village  of  the  leaf 
The  Oughetgeodatonsy  village  of  the  dung. 
The  Ouapeontetonsy  village  of  thofe  who  (hoot  in  a 

great  pine. 
The  Hinhanetonsy  (Ihanktonwan)  village  of  the  red 

flone  quarry. 


GRAVIER'S  VOYAGE 

DOWN  AND  UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI, 


f 


1700. 


JOURNAL    OF    THE    VOYAGE 

OF 

FATHER    GRAVIER  • 

Of  the  Society  of  Jefus,  in  1700,  from  the 
Country  of  the  Ilinois  to  the  Mouth  of  the 
MiffifBpi,  aJdreffed  to  Father  de  Lamber- 
ville,  and  fent  from  the  Fort  of  the  Mif- 
(iflipi,  17  leagues  from  its  Mouth  in  the 
Gulf  or  Sea  of  Mexico,  Feb.  16,  1701. 

EVEREND  Father: 
Pax  Cifrifti. 

On  my  return  from  Michili- 
^*^'  mackinac  I  received  your  letter  which  you  did 
mc  the  honor  tc  ;vrite  by  the  Mifliffipy,  addrefled 
to  Father  Aveneau,  who  fent  it  to  me  at  Chika- 

«  Father  James  Gravier  of  the  who  fufficienHy  maftered  the  Ian- 
Society  of  Jefus,  the  writer  of  this  guage  to  cc  '^ilv:  a  grammar.  His 
narrative,  was  one  of  the  carlieft  philological  labors  were  highly  ef- 
Ulinois   miflionaries,  and  the  firft  teemed,  but  have  apparently  per> 


1 16       Down  and  Up  the  Mijffifftppi, 

goua,2  whence  I  fet  out  on  the  8th  of  September, 
170c,  to  come  here.  I  arrived  too  late  at  the  Illi- 
nois du  Detroit,?  of  whom  Father  Mareft  has 
charge,  to  prevent  the  tranfmigration  of  the  village 
of  the  KafkaiTcias,  which  was  too  precipitately  made 
on  vague  news  of  the  ellablifliment  on  the  MiflilTipi. 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  Kalkaikias  would  thus  have 
feparated  from  the  Peouaroiia  and  other  Illinois  du 
Detroit,  had  I  arrived  fooner.  At  all  events  Icame 
foon  enough  to  unite  minds  a  little,  and  to  prevent 
the  infult  which  the  Peouaroiia  and  the  Moiiin- 
gouena  were  bent  on  offering  to  the  Kafkafkias  and 
French  as  they  embarked.  I  fpoke  to  all  the  chiefs 
in  full  council,  and  as  they  continue  to  preferve 
fome  refpedt  and  good  will  for  me,  we  feparated 


., 


iihcd.  He  is  dated  to  have  been  a 
native  of  Langucdoc,  but  the  work 
that  artcrts  it  is  of  too  little  credit 
to  make  it  certain.  He  arrived  in 
Canada  apparently  after  1679,  was 
at  Sillery  in  1684,  but  appears  in 
the  Illinois  miflion  from  1687  to 
1706.  A  Relation  of  his  milTion 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in 
1693  was  publiflicd  at  New  York 
in  1857,  and  Dillon,  author  of  the 
Hiftory  of  Indiana,  had  his  Rcgifter 
from  1695  to  1699.  He  def;ended 
the  Mifliflippi  in  1 700,  but  returned 
to  his  miflion,  and  fome  years  after 
was  wounded  in  the  body  and  in 
the  arm  by  fome  of  the  Peorias,  at 
the  inftigation  of  the  medicine  men. 
He  dcfccnded  to  Mobile  to  get  his 
wounds  treated,  and  Benard  dc  la 
Harpe  notes  his  arrival  there  Janu- 


ary 16,  1706,  adding  that  he  was 
not  yet  out  of  danger.  Mareft  fays 
that  he  died  foon  after.     •  , 

*  He  evidently  ftarts  from  ihe 
Miami  miflion,  mentioned  in  St. 
Cofme's  journal.  Claude  .^veneau 
was  at  Detroit  in  1687,  and  by  his 
gentlcncfs  and  patience  acquired  a 
great  influence  over  the  Miamis, 
who  were  ever  at  peace  with  the 
French  till  the  mcddlefome  La  Motto 
Cadillac  forced  him  to  leave  the 
miifion.  His  return  in  1707  was 
the  fignal  of  peace. 

3  This  defignation  does  not  ap- 
pear clfewhere,  and  I  cannot  dif- 
cover  what  y/mr  is  referred  to.  It 
evidently  includes  the  Peorias. 


Donson  and  Up  the  MiJJiJJippu       117 

very  peaceably.  But  I  augur  no  good  from  this 
reparation,  which  I  have  always  hindered,  feeing 
but  too  clearly  the  evil  refults.  God  grant  that  the 
road  from  Chikagoua  to  the  Strait  (au  Detroit)  be 
not  clofcd,  and  the  whole  Illinois  mifTion  fuffer 
greatly.  I  avow  to  you,  Rev.  Father,  that  it  rends 
my  heart  to  fee  my  old  flock  thus  divided  and  dif- 
perfed,  and  I  (hall  never  fee  it,  after  leaving  it, 
without  having  fome  new  caule  of  afflidlion.  The 
Peouaroua,  whom  I  left  without  a  miflionary  (fince 
Father  Mareft  has  followed  the  Kaflcafkias)  have 
promifed  me  that  they  would  preferve  the  Church, 
and  that  they  would  await  my  return  from  the 
Mifllflipi,  where  I  told  them  that  I  went  only  to 
afliire  myfelf  of  the  truth  of  all  that  was  faid  about 
it.  This  gave  them  great  pleafure:  they  promifed 
me  that  they  would  leave  their  village  only  when 
I  (hould  diredt  them,  or  the  great  chief  down  the 
river  wifhed  them  to  tranfport  it.  I  much  doubt 
whether  they  will  keep  their  word. 

After  having  marched  four  days  with  the  Kaf- 
kaikias,4  I  went  ahead  with  Father  Mareil,  whom 
I  left  fick  at  the  Tamarouha,  where  Father  Pinet 
difcharges  peaceably  all  the  functions  of  miflionary, 
and  Mr.  Bergier,5  who  gets  along  very  well  with 


4  Father  Marquette  and  Allouez 
found  the  Ka(ka(kias  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Illinois.  This  journal 
(hows  when  and  why  they  removed 
to  the  prefent  Kafkafkia.  It.  was  in 
the  view  of  joining  the  French  in 
Louifiana,  that   they  fet   out,  but 


Gravier's  influence  induced  a  halt, 
which  proved  a  lalling  one. 

5  Rev.  John  Bergier,  a  prieft  of 
the  Seminary  of  Quebec,  arrived  in 
Canada,  it  is  faid,  in  1683.  He 
was  not  of  Mr.  Montigny's  party. 


I 


ii8  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

us,  has  care  only  of  the  French,  and  this  is  a  good 
rehef  for  Father  Pinet. 

I  flarted  from  the  Tamarouha  the  9th  0<5tobcr, 
to  come  here  at  the  lower  part  of  the  Mifliflipi,  to 
affift  Father  du  Ru.^  I  was  accompanied  by  five 
canoes  of  Frenchmen.  For  my  part  1  had  in  my 
canoe  only  Brother  Guibert  and  a  Frenchman  fick 
with  the  tertian  fever.  At  two  leagues  from  the 
village  I  found  the  Tamarouha,  who  have  taken  up 
their  winter  quarters  in  a  beautiful  bay,  where  they 
await  the  Metchigamia,  who  are  to  come  over  fixty 
leagues  to  winter,  and  form  only  one  village  with 
them.  One  of  our  miflionaries  is  to  vifit  them 
every  fecond  day  all  the  winter  long,  and  do  as 
much  for  the  KaoUkia,  who  have  taken  their  winter 
quarters  four  leagues  above  the  village. 

We  made  only  four  leagues  the  firft  day,  in  con- 
fequence  of  one  of  our  canoes  being  opened  by  a 
fnag  [cJbicol]  hidden  in  the  water,  which  flopped 
us  to  repair  it. 


but  Toon  followed,  as  we  here  Arid 
him  at  Cahokia  (Tamarois)  in  Sep- 
tember, 1700.  He  probably  fuc- 
cceded  St.  Cofmc  at  the  Tamarois. 
On  Pinel's  death,  he  became  Indian 
miflionary  alfo,  and  ftruggled  man- 
fully with  ihe  medicine  men,  but 
his  health  failed,  and  after  being 
vifited  in  his  flcknefs  by  Father 
Mareft,  died,  it  is  faid,  in  1710. 
On  a  vifit  to  Mobile  in  1 707  he 
firll  announced  the  afTaflination  of 
his  predeceflbr,  the  Rev.  Mr.  St. 
Cofmc. 


6  Father  du  Ru  came  out  as  chap> 
lain  to  Iberville,  and  planted  a  crofs 
at  the  mouth  of  the  MiflifFippi,  the 
infcription  on  which  is  given  at  the 
end  of  this  journal.  He  founded 
the  Oumas  miffion,  erefting  a  chapel 
oppofite  the  temple.  He  was  foon 
fucceeded  by  Father  de  Lymoges, 
and  remained  in  tlie  fcttlcment,  but 
became  involved  in  difputcs  with 
Mr.  Sauvolle,  the  commander.  His 
companion.  Father  Donge,  fell  a 
vidlim  to  the  climate,  and  he  re- 
turned to  Europ.' 


ii> 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjftppi,      1 19 

On  the  loth  day,  after  a  league's  progrefs,  we 
difcovered  the  river  Miaramigoua,7  where  the  very 
rich  lead  mine  is,  twelve  or  thirteen  leagues  from 
its  mouth.     This  mine  yields  three-fourths. 

On  the  nth  we  killed  a  buffalo  or  wild-ox, 
which  coil  us  ten  or  twelve  gun-{hots,  fo  well  did 
he  defend  his  life.  The  fever  which  feized  my 
pilot  obliged  us  to  land  at  one  in  the  afternoon,  and 
in  five  days,  although  the  current  was  ftrong,  we 
made  only  thirty-five  leagues,  becaule  the  fick 
obliged  us  to  land  early,  and  becaufe  much  time  is 
lofl  firing  on  the  bufifaloes  that  line  the  river,  and 
who  are  almoft  always  left  to  be  devoured  by  the 
wolves. 

On  the  1 4th  we  doubled  Cape  St.  Croix.  It  is 
a  fmall  rock  which  makes  a  little  ifland  on  the  north 
of  the  MifHfiipi,  on  which  Mr.  de  Montigny  planted 
a  crofs.8    We  took  two  bears  there. 

On  the  15th,  continuation  of  fair  weather.  We 
faw  that  day  over  fifty  bears,  and  of  all  that  we 
killed,  we  took  only  four  to  have  the  oil.  Thofe 
that  came  down  along  the  Miflifiipi  were  lean,  and 
thofe  that  came  from  the  diredcion  of  the  river 
Ouabachci  were  fat.  They  were  conftantly  going 
from  fouth  to  north.  It  muft  be  better  for  them 
there. 

You  meet  a  number  of  iflands  and  (hoals  in  the 
courfe  of  the  Miffiffipi  river,  from  the  Tamarouha 

7  Marameg.     Charlevoix,  in  his    of  the  early  mining  attempts  made 
Hift.  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  vol.     here. 
Ill,  p.  438,  gives  an  amufing  account        8  See  p.  68. 


I20         Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

to  the  river  Ouabachi ;  this  river  keeps  quite  clofely 
its  direction  of  north  to  fouth ;  but  three  or  four 
leagues  from  Ouabachi  it  begins  to  turn  to  the 
N.  N.  W.,  and  does  nothing  but  wind.  We  could 
not  judge  by  the  diftance  we  made  on  the  T5th 
what  diredlion  it  takes.  Father  Marquette  (who 
firft  difcovered  it  nearly  thirty  years  ago)  puts  it  in 
his  journal  three  leagues  from  Ouabachi,  36  deg. 
47  min.  We  cabined  in  fight  of  this  river,  which 
comes  from  the  fouth  and  empties  into  the  Miflif- 
fippi.  At  its  mouth  it  makes  a  great  bafin  two 
arpents  from  its  difcharge.  It  is  called  by  the  Illi- 
nois and  by  the  Oumiamis  the  river  of  the  Akanfea, 
becaufe  the  Akanfea  formerly  dwelt  on  it.9  Three 
branches  are  affigned  to  it,  one  that  comes  from  the 
northweft,  pafling  behind  the  country  of  the  Ou- 
miamis, called  the  River  St.  Jofeph,  which  the 
Indians  call  properly  Ouabachci.'o  The  fecond 
comes  from  the  Iroquois,  and  it  is  that  called  by 
them  Ohio ;  and  the  third  from  the  S.  S.  W.,  on 
which  are  the  ChaoUanoiia,>>  and  all  three  uniting 
to  empty  into  the  Miffiffipi,  it  is  commonly  called 


9  This  is  an  important  fa£t  not 
elfewhere  alluded  to,  fliowing  that 
this  branch  of  the  Dakoias  mufl 
have  penetrated  the  moft  early  of 
any,  before  they  were  driven  fouth- 
erly  and  weft  of  the  Miffiffippi. 
This  fact  will  probably  bafe  new 
theories  as  to  the  Ohio  mound 
builders,  poflibly  the  people  who 
were  atucked  by,  but  repulfed  the 
Arkanfas,  unless  it  is  more  pleafmg 


to  make  them  the  mound  builders 
who  fled  down  the  Mifliflippi,  like 
the  fabulous  Aljigcwi  of  the  fchool 
books  of  other  days. 

>o  Here  Gravier  diftin£VJy  ftates 

the  Wabafli  to  be  the  Indian  name 

of  the  river  that  now  bears  the  name. 

' »  The  Shawnees,     This  branch 

is  the  TenneiTee. 


I   ; 


Down  and  Up  the  Miffijftppi. 


121 


Ouabachi ;  but  the  Illinois  and  the  other  Indians 
call  it  the  River  of  the  Akanfea.  Its  water  is 
clear,  and  it  does  not  feem  very  rapid.  It  falls 
gently  into  the  Miffiflipi,  which  lofes  a  little  of  the 
muddy  color  given  it  by  the  River  of  the  Miflburis. 
I  found  an  excellent  remedy  to  cure  our  French 
of  their  tevers.  I  promifed  God  jointly  with  Peter 
de  Bonne,  who  had  a  violent  tertian  fever  for  a 
confiderable  time,  to  recite  for  nine  days  fome  pray- 
ers in  honor  of  Father  Francis  Regis, '*  whofe  relics 
I  have,  which  I  applied  to  him  in  the  height  of  his 
fever,  when  it  ceafed  fuddenly,  and  he  had  no  more 
of  it  after  that  time.  After  my  novena  I  refumed 
my  reliquary,  which  I  hung  around  the  neck  of 
Louis  de  Hemme  of  Riviere  du  Loup,  with  whom 
I  began  a  fecond  novena,  and  from  the  firfl  day  the 
fever  left  him ;  and  having  taken  off  my  reliquary 
the  fourth  or  fifth  day  of  the  novena  to  hang  it  on 
the  neck  of  one  by  name  Auguftine  La  Pointe  of 
Cote  St.  Michel  in  Canada,  who  had  already  had 
two  or  three  attacks  of  fever,  it  took  du  Hemme 
again,  who  feeing  himfelf  cured,  had  faid  that  I 
was  not  afraid  of  being  fick  with  that  reliquary 
always  hung  around  his  neck,  and  as  foon  as  I  took 


II  St.  John  Francis  Regis  was  a 
Jefuit  miffionary  in  France,  who, 
failing  to  obtain  permiilion  to  de- 
vote himfelf  to  the  Indians  in  Amer- 
ica, fpent  his  life  in  giving  religious 
inftrudlion  to  the  poor  country  peo- 
ple, who  were  much  negledled  in 
fome  parts  of  France.     He  died  at 


Puy  in  the  Velay,  in  1640,  in  the 
midft  of  his  labors.  His  virtues 
and  favors  led  to  his  canonization 
1737.     The  Indian  town  of  St. 


m 


Regis,  in  northern  New  York,  com' 
mcmorates  the  fervices  of  this  de- 
voted evangclift  of  the  poor. 


122  Father  Gravier's  f^oyage 

it  off,  the  fever  came  back  and  did  not  leave  him 
till  after  the  novena,  and  La  Pointe  was  cured  per- 
fedlly  from  the  firft  day  that  I  hung  my  reliquary 
around  his  neck,  which  I  did  not  remove  till  the 
novena  was  completed.  And  at  this  moment  Pierre 
Chabot  of  lile  Orleans,  who  had  the  fever  for  more 
than  fix  months,  having  hung  it  on  his  neck,  the 
third  day  of  the  novena  that  ftubborn  fever  dimin- 
ifhed  and  he  was  entirely  rid  of  it  at  the  end  of  the 
novena.  A  fmall  piece  of  Father  Regis's  hat,  which 
one  of  our  domeflics  gave  me  is  the  moft  infallible 
remedy  that  I  can  have  to  cure  all  kinds  of  fevers. 

Now  to  refume  my  route.  We  flarted  on  the 
1 6th  of  October  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ouabachi, 
with  very  favorable  weather,  and  we  found  the 
MifTiflipi  lefs  rapid  than  above  the  OUabachi.  As 
we  had  a  great  quantity  of  meat,  we  dried  in  hafte 
a  pare  of  the  beft,  and  the  great  heat  obliged  us  to 
throw  away  the  reft.  We  faw  fo  great  a  quantity 
of  wild  pigeons,  that  the  air  was  darkened  and  quite 
covered  by  them.  W«  ran  all  day  S.  S.  W.,  and 
five  leagues  below  Ouabachi  on  the  fouth  fide,  we 
found  great  bluffs  of  fand,  where  there  is  faid  to  be 
an  iron  mine.  The  pretended  plates  of  iron  at- 
tached to  pebbles,  are  anything  but  what  was  fup- 
pofed  and  what  I  was  told.  They  are  merely  veins 
of  hard  and  almoft  petrified  earth,  which  have  in  - 
deed  the  color  of  iron,  but  which  are  not  heavy, 
and  break  eafily.  I  took  a  piece  to  (how  that  if 
there  is  an  iron  mine,  it  muft  not  be  judged  by  that 
earth. 


■ 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjftppi,      123 

A  little  lower  down,  we  began  to  difcover  canes 
on  the  hillocks.  They  are  covered  with  evergreen 
leaves  from  the  bottom  to  the  point,  which  ter- 
minates in  a  little  tuft  of  leaves.  They  are  not 
over  feven  or  eight  feet  high  on  the  fides  of  the 
hills,  but  are  twenty,  thirty,  and  forty  feet  high  in 
the  woods,  efpecially  from  the  Akanfea. 

On  the  1 8th,  in  three  hours  time,  we  boxed  the 
compafs,  and  after  running  a  little  while  E.  S.  £.,  we 
went  half  round  it  again  in  a  bay  of  more  than  two 
leagues,  which  can  be  cut  acrofs  at  high  water. 

On  the  19th  we  overtook  the  two  canoes  that 
had  left  us,  and  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
we  found  on  the  north  fide,  three  or  four  leagues 
further  down,  beyond  a  little  prairie,  an  echo  which 
repeats  five  words  difi:indtly,  and  begins  to  repeat 
what  you  fay  only  when  you  finilh  pronouncing  the 
laft  word. 

On  the  20th  great  heat;  we  flept  in  fight  of 
great  bluffs  of  (lone,  called  Fort  Prud'homme,  be- 
caufe  Mr.  de  la  Salle,  going  on  his  difcovery,  en- 
trenched himfelf  here  with  his  party,  fearing  that 
Prud'homme,  who  had  got  lofl:  in  the  woods,  had 
been  killed  by  the  Indians,  and  that  he  himfelf 
would  be  attacked.  Laft  year  a  quantity  of  bears 
were  killed  at  this  place.  The  rain  detained  us  the 
22d  and  23d  on  a  great  fand  bank,  whence  we 
gained  an  ifland  where  there  was  petrified  wood.  I 
do  not  know  whether  it  is  a  fpring  or  a  ftream  of 
water  that  has  this  power,  as  there  is  in  Auvergne, 
on  the  confines  of  Bourbonnois,  a  mineral  fountain 


124         Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

that  petrifies  the  leaves  of  the  trees  that  fall  in ;  or 
whetner  it  is  the  fun  which  blackens  and  hardens 
fmall  bits  of  rotten  wood  left  on  the  fand  after  the 
high  waters.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  faw  large  and 
fmall ;  it  cannot  be  doubted,  for  there  are  fome  that 
arc  not  yet  petrified,  and  which  are  part  wood  and 
part  black  flone  which  breaks  eafily.  A  blackfmith 
who  was  in  the  party  took  the  petrified  wood  for 
coal,  but  befides  its  not  being  fo  heavy,  he  was  con- 
vinced of  the  contrary  by  throwing  it  into  the  fire. 

On  the  24th  we  found  a  quantity  of  grapes,  but 
they  are  nothing  to  what  had  been  reprefented  to 
me,  and  neither  as  good  nor  as  Targe  as  thofe  found 
on  the  River  of  the  Illinois,  and  efpecially  on  the 
River  of  the  Miamis  and  in  greater  quantity. 

On  the  25th  there  fell  fo  heavy  2^  rain  that  we 
had  to  get  up  on  a  hill  more  than  thirty  feet  high 
and  tranfport  our  cabin  there. 

On  the  26th  we  pafTed  the  Riviere  a  Mayot'3  on 
the  fouth,  from  the  name  of  an  Indian  of  the  Mo- 
hegan  nation  who  was  of  Mr.  de  la  Salle's  party. 
This  river  does  not  feem  to  be  very  large,  but  is 
faid  to  be  a  good  hunting  ground,  and  that  the 
Chickacha  come  to  its  mouth,  from  which  they  are 
only  three  day's  journey,  cutting  fouth  inland. 

A  league  or  two  lower  down  we  found  a  periagua 
of  Taogria.H     They  are  people  of  the  Mohegan 


13  Riviere  a  Margot.  the  river  of  Cafquinambo  (Tennef 

fee),  a  branch  of  the  Ohio,  and  af- 

14  Benard  dc  la  Harpe  mentions     cribes  the  butchery  of  fome  French- 
(he  Taogarios  as  a  nation  fetded  on     men  to  the  Englifh  fettled  among 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijfijftppi,      125 

nation,  who  trade  muci.  mih  the  Englifh.  There 
were  only  fix  men,  a  woman,  and  child ;  they  were 
coming  from  the  Akanfea.  The  one  who  feemed 
to  me  the  mod  coniiderable  faid  fome  Illinois  words, 
and  fpoke  ChaolianoUa.  He  made  me  lit  down  on 
a  bear  fkin  fpread  before  his  Held  cabin,  and  pre- 
fented  me  fagamity  to  eat ;  he  then  told  me  as  news 
that  Father  de  Limoges,' 5  (whom  he  called  Captain 
Pauiongha)  had  capiized  in  his  canoe  and  lod  every 
thing ;  and  that  the  Kappa  Akanfea  had  given  him 
provifions  and  a  canoe  to  continue  his  journey.  I 
gave  him  a  knife  and  half  a  box  o^  vermillion.  He 
made  me  a  prefent  of  a  large  piece  of  meat  of  his 
chafe.  A  league  after  parting  with  him  we  killed 
four  does.  We  did  not  expeft  fuch  a  piece  of  good 
luck ;  and  we  neither  killed  nor  faw  another  beafl: 
from  Riviere  a  Mayot  to  the  fea. 

On  the  27th  we  pafled  St.  Francis  river  at  the 
point  of  a  turn  to  the  north,  eighteen  leagues  from 
the  Akanfea. 

On  the  29th  leaving  our  cabinage  we  ran  weft 
and  then  kept  fouthweft.  About  noon  we  dif- 
covered  four  periaguas  of  Akanfeas;  when  my 
canoe  got  near  land,  an  old  man  came  into  the  water 
and  carried  me  a(hore  on  his  fhoulders.  The  chief 
made  me  fit  down  on  a  great  bearlkin,  and  the 
French  on  ofier  branches,  which  he  made  his  young 


them.  It  is  therefore  worth  while 
to  invcftigatc  who  were  thcfe  Al- 
gonquin Indians  on  the  Tenneflec 
known  to  the  Englifh  in  1 700. 


«S  Father  Jofeph  de  Lymogcs 
mud  have  been  on  the  Illinois  mif- 
(lon,  and  on  his  way  down  at  this 
time.  After  his  Oumas  milTion  all 
trace  of  him  difappears. 


126  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

men  cut.  He  prefented  me  two  piakimina  cakes, 
which  I  diflributed  among  the  French;  and  af- 
flidted  as  I  was  that  they  did  not  underdand  me, 
wifhing  to  fpeak  to  them  of  God,  I  retired  to  pray 
for  them,  while  the  kettles  were  boiling.  They 
ferved  me  a  plate  of  fagamity  of  fmall  Indian  corn, 
and  another  of  fmall  corn  whole,  feafoned  with  ex- 
cellent fquafh.  I  made  a  little  prefent  to  the  chief  of 
the  band,  and  on  the  30th  we  went  and  cabined  a 
league  lower  down,  half  eague  from  the  old  village 
of  the  Akaniea,  where  they  formerly  received  the 
late  Father  Marquette,  and  which  is  difcernible  now 
only  by  the  old  outworks  fdehonj^  there  being  no 
cabins  left. 

On  the  31ft,  about  9  A.  M.,  we  arrived  at  the 
village  of  the  Kappa  Akanfea,  who  are  at  24  deg., 
according  to  Father  Marquette's  eflimate.  The 
village  is  half  a  league  from  the  water's  edge.  Mr. 
de  Montigny  planted  a  crofs  on  the  hill,  which  is 
very  fteep,  and  forty  feet  high.  After  faluting  the 
crofs  and  chanting  the  Vexilla  Regis  with  the  French 
we  notified  the  Akanfea  by  three  guns,  and  in  lefs 
than  half  a  quarter  of  an  hour  at  moft,  two  young 
men  appeared  fword  in  hand,  followed  clofe  by  the 
chief  of  the  Kappas  and  the  chief  of  the  Tourima, 
and  twenty  or  thirty  well  made  young  men  with 
their  bows  and  arrows.  Some  had  fwords,  and  two 
or  three  Englifh  guns,  given  to  them  laft  year  by 
the  man  who  brought  them  a  lot  of  merchandise 
to  alienate  them  from  the  French,  and  efpecially 
from  the  miflionaries,  whom  he  had  an  averHon 


. 


Down  and  Up  the  Mtjj.    ppi,      my 

againft,  boafling  that  he  would  put  'i  e  fiHl  he  met 
in  irons  and  put  them  to  death.  The  French  vvho 
took  him  found  wherewith  to  make  him  a  pair  of 
handcuffs  with  irons,  and  prevented  his  doing  all  the 
harm  he  propofed  to  do.'*  He  had  already  two 
concubines  at  the  Kappas. 

To  refume ;  the  chiefs  invited  me  to  go  to  their 
village,  which  confifls  of  forty  cabins.  A  part  of 
the  French  accompanied  me  there,  while  the  others 
guarded  the  canoes  at  anchor.  They  took  me  to 
the  cabin  of  the  chief,  who  made  me  (it  down  on 
a  mat  of  drelTed  canes,  and  at  the  fame  time  put 
on  the  fire  a  kettle  of  fmall  Indian  corn,  feafoned 
plentifully  with  dried  peaches.  They  brought 
me  from  another  cabin  a  large  platter  of  ripe  fruit 
of  piakimina  It  is  pretty  much  like  the  French 
medlar.  The  platter  was  prefented  to  the  chief 
to  hand  to  me.  As  it  is  the  moft  excellent  fruit 
the  Indians  have  from  the  Illinois  to  the  fea,  the 
chief  did  not  fail  to  begin  his  feaft  with  it.  After 
tafling  a  little  I  pafTed  the  difh  to  Brother  Guibert 
and  the  French  who  fat  oppofite  me.  I  did  the 
fame  with  the  fagamity.  I  remarked  that  all  who 
entered  the  cabin  flood  at  the  door,  and  advanced 
only  when  the  chief  told  them  to  do  fo  and  fit  down. 
There  was  a  Metchigamikoiie  woman  there,  who 
ad:ed  as  my  interpreter,  and  confirmed  the  ftory  of 

1 6  It  is  probably  impofliblc,  at  Chickafaws  to  dtcack  the  Colapiflas, 

this  day,  to  difcover  who  were  thefe  fettling  among  the  Arkanfas..  trading 

adventurous  Engliflimen  who  were  on  the  TennefTee. 
fo  early  on  the  Miffiflippi,  leading 


128  Father  Gravier^s  Voyage 

Father  de  Limoges*  capfizing  and  lofs  of  all  he  had. 
She  gave  him  her  provifion  of  Indian  corn  and 
fquafhes  to  carry  him  as  far  as  the  Natchez,  and  the 
chief  gave  him  an  earthen  pot,  after  regaling  him 
as  well  as  he  could.  I  aiked  him  whether  he  re- 
colle(5led  to  have  formerly  feen  a  Frenchman  drefled 
in  black,  attired  like  me,  in  their  village.  He  re- 
plied that  he  recoUedled  it  well,  but  that  it  was  fo 
long  ago  that  he  could  not  count  the  years.  I  told 
him  that  it  was  more  than  twenty-fcven  years.  He 
added  that  they  danced  the  Captain's  calumet  to 
him,  which  I  did  not  at  once  underfland,  fuppodng 
that  he  fpoke  of  the  calumet  of  the  Illinois,  which 
the  Kaflcafkias  had  given  Father  Marquette  to  carry 
with  him  on  the  Mifliflipi  as  a  fafeguard ;  but  I 
found  in  the  Father's  journal  that  they  did  in  fadl 
dance  the  calumet  to  him.  He  then  had  me  afked 
in  how  many  days  I  would  ftart,  and  having  told 
him  that  I  had  come  afhore  merely  to  falute  him  in 
his  cabin,  and  that  I  was  going  to  embark,  he  begged 
me  to  remain  at  lead  one  day,  to  have  provifions 
prepared,  and  that  all  the  young  men  of  his  village 
were  very  glad  to  fee  me.  I  replied  to  his  compli- 
ment and  ftated  that  I  was  in  hafte  to  get  to  my 
journey's  end.  I  had  previoufly  inquired  whether 
there  were  any  fick ;  my  interpreter  informed  me 
that  there  were  none.  At  laft,  after  a  good  deal  of 
going  and  coming,  and  many  confultations  with  his 
people,  the  chief  of  the  village  afked  me  to  ftay  till 
next  day,  becaufe  he  wiflied  to  dance  the  chief's  cal- 
umet with  his  young  men  to  me.     As  this  is  a  fpecial 


71 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjftppi,      129 

honor  which  is  done  but  rarely,  and  only  to  perfons 
of  diftin(ftion,  I  thanked  him  Tor  his  good  will, 
faying  that  I  did  not  cfteem  myfelf  a  captain,  and 
that  I  was  darting  immediately.  My  anfwer  pleafed 
the  French,  but  it  was  fcarcely  agreeable  to  all  the 
others,  who  by  doing  me  this  honor  hoped  to  draw 
prefents  from  me.  The  chief  condudted  me  to  the 
water's  edge,  followed  by  all  his  people,  and  they 
brought  me  a  quantity  of  dried  peaches,  piachimina, 
and  fquafhes.  I  made  a  prefent  to  the  chiwf  of  a 
little  lead  and  powder,  and  a  box  of  vermillion  to 
daub  his  youth,  and  fome  other  trifle  which  he  was 
much  pleafed  with,  telling  him  that  I  thanked  him 
for  the  lervice  he  had  rendered  Father  Limoges. 
After  I  embarked  they  fired  four  guns,  to  which  the 
people  with  me  refponded.  Two  leagues  from  the 
village  there  is  a  little  river,  on  which  they  go  in 
canoes  in  the  fpring,  behind  the  hills,  to  their  cabin 
doors. 

As  I  have  here  mentioned  the  calumet,  you  will 
be  pleafed  to  have  me  tell  you  fopiething  of  it 
here.  There  is  nothing  among  these  Indians  more 
myfterious  or  commendable.  No  fuch  honor  is 
paid  to  the  crowns  and  fccptres  of  kings  as  they  pay 
to  it.  It  feems  to  be  the  god  of  peace  and  war,  the 
arbiter  of  life  and  death.  To  carry  and  (how  it  en- 
ables you  to  march  with  affurance  amid  enemies  who 
in  the  heat  of  the  combat  lay  down  their  arms  when 
it  is  (hown.  It  was  on  this  account  that  the  Illi- 
nois gave  one  to  the  late  Father  Marquette  as 
a  fafeguard  among  the  nations  of  the  MiflllTipi, 


130  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

through  whom  he  was  to  pass  on  his  voyage  goirig 
to  the  difcovery  of  this  river  and  the  ii.ations  dwell- 
ing on  it. 

There  is  a  calumet  for  peace  and  one  for  war, 
which  are  diftinguifhed  fimply  by  the  colour  of  the 
feathers  with  which  they  are  trimmed.  The  red 
is  a  mark  of  war ;  they  ufe  it  alio  to  fettle  their  dif- 
putes,  to  confirm  alliances  and  to  fpeak  to  ftrangers. 
It  is  a  kind  of  pipe  to  fmoke  tobacco,  made  of  a 
red  ftone  polifhed  like  marble  and  pierced  fo  that 
one  end  ferves  to  receive  the  tobacco  and  the  other 
fits  on  the  handle.  This  is  a  hollow  piece  of  wood, 
two  feet  long,  and  as  thick  as  an  ordinary  cane.  It 
is  by  reafon  of  this  that  the  French  have  flyled  it 
Calumet,  corrupting  the  word  ChalumeaUy  becaufe 
it  refembles  a  pipe,  or  rather  a  long  flute.  It  is 
embellifhed  with  the  head  or  neck  of  various  birds! 
whofe  plumage  is  very  beautiful.  They  add  alfo 
large  red  or  green  or  other  coloured  feathers,  with 
which  it  is  all  trimmed.  They  efteem  it  efpecially 
becaufe  they  regard  it  as  the  calumet  or  pipe  of  the 
fun,  and  in  fad  they  profiler  it  to  him  to  fmoke 
when  they  wifh  to  obtain  calm,  rain  or  fair  weather. 
They  would  fcruple  to  bathe  in  the  beginning  of 
hot  weather,  or  to  eat  new  fruits  till  after  they  had 
danced  the  calumet,  that  is  to  fay,  the  chief  holds 
it  in  his  hands  finging  airs,  to  which  the  others  re- 
fpond,  dancing  and  making  geftures  in  time  with 
the  found  of  certain  inftruments  of  the  fafhion  of 
fmall  drums. 

On  the    ifl  of  November  moft  of  the  French 


\i 


\s 


"I        .  «.' 


\\ 


\\ 


Down  and  Up  the  MifftJJtppi.      1 3 1 

approached  the  lacraments,  and  after  celebrating 
the  feaft'7  in  the  beft  way  we  could,  we  con- 
tinued our  voyage  and  difcovered  the  river  of  the 
Akanfea  eight  leagues  from  the  village  of  the 
Kappa. 

The  Sitteoiii  Akanfea  are  five  leagues  above  its 
mouth  and  are  much  more  numerous  than  the 
Kappa  and  Tourima  ;  thefe  are  the  three  villages  of 
the  Akanfea.'^  This  river,  which  is  on  the  north 
of  the  MiiTiflipi,  is  very  beautiful ;  it  divides  into 
three  branches  a  league  from  the  village  of  the 
Oufitteoui,  it  runs  N.  W.  and  by  afcending  it  they 
go  to  reach  the  river  of  the  MilTouris  by  making  a 
portage.  They  reckon  60  leagues  from  the  Kappa 
to  the  river  of  the  Toumika,  and  on  the  third  day 
we  paffed  Pointe  Coupee,  which  is  half  way.  We 
were  then  at  anchor  for  fix  days  of  rain,  and  did 
not  make  much  progrefs. 

On  the  7th  a  furious  fog  arofe  and  the  rain 
obliged  us  to  cabin  on  a  hill  more  than  40  or  50 
feet  high,  and  at  7  P.  M.  we  were  furpriied  by  a 
furious  gale.  It  lafted  over  an  hour  and  gave  all 
hands  plenty  of  exercife  to  fave  the  canoes  and  bag- 
gage, and  threatened  to  crufh  us  every  moment 
under  the  trees  that  were  falling  around  us.  When 
the  wind  fell  the  rain  was  fo  violent  for  two  days 
that  I  never  faw  the  like. 

Our  people  killed  a  crocodile  three  fathoms 
long.  It  is  an  animal  of  the  colour  of  a  toad, 
fhaped  like  a  lizard.     It  is  often  found  on  land  and 


»7Feaft  of  All  Saints. 


'8  See  page  75  n. 


132         Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

although  it  walks  very  flowly,  men  feldom  ap- 
proach it  unlefs  well  armed.  The  fcales  with  which 
it  is  covered  are  proof  againft  fmall  fhot,  and  re- 
quire a  ball  to  pierce  them ;  I  do  not  know  how 
the  Indians  do,  who  have  only  arrows^  unlefs  they 
Aide  under^the  fcales  behind.  Its  mouth  is  very 
large  and  armed  with  two  rows  of  teeth  longer  than 
a  bear's.  It  makes  you  fhudder  to  fee  it  and  hear 
it  grit  its  teeth.  They  say  that  the  tongue  is  good 
eating,  but  I  have  not  yet  had  the  curiofity  to  tafte 
it  or  the  reft  of  the  body,  which  moft  of  the  In- 
dians efteem  a  great  dainty.  From  time  to  time  it 
cofts  the  life,  of  fome  of  thofe  who  venture  to 
plunge  in  to  take^  them  ;  after,  they  are  wounded. 
Many  arejo  be  feen  larger  than  this  one. 

On  the  13th,  after  the  mafs  of  the  BlefTed  Stan- 
iflaus,'9  we  fet  out  and  the  next  cay  reached  the  river 
of  the  Tounika.  I  left  the  five  canoes  of  French 
at  the  mouth ;  it  is  on  the.fouth  of  the  Miffiffippi. 
I  embarked  in  my  canoe  to  go  and  vifit  Mr.  Da- 
vion,  ^  miffionary  prieft,  who  was  fick ;  I  left  my 
canoe  four  leagues  from  the  river  at  the  foot  of  a 
hil?,  where  there  are  five  or  fix  cabins.  The  road, 
which  is  two  leagues  by  land,  is  quite  pretty.  I 
found  piakimina  trees  loaded  with  fruit  and  many 
copal  trees  exuding  gum.  We  paflTed  in  the  roads 
canes  forty  feet  high  and  thick  as  your  arm.  The 
ftalk  of  the  corn,  which  we  call  Indian  corn,  is 
over  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  and  fo  are  the  fun 

19  St.  Staniflaus  Koftka  of  the     beatified,  and  was  canonized  in  the 
Society  of  Jefus  J  he  was  at  this  time    year  1727.  .. 


\  ■; 


i 


\v 


Down  and  Up  the  Mifftjffippi.       133 

flowers  and  thick  in  proportion.  We  faw  five  or 
fix  hamlets  of  a  few  cabins,  and  I  was  furprized 
that  the  Indians,  who  fo  rarely  fee  Frenchmen, 
fhowed  fo  little  curiofity.  There  was  none  except 
at  Mr.  Davion's  village,  where  all  the  people 
efcorted  me  to  the  houfe  of  that  fervent  miflionary, 
whom  I  found  in  bed  with  the  fever.  He  arofe 
next  day  to  receive  at  my  mafs,""and  went  out  for 
the  firft  time  with  me  to  vifit  fbme  cabins.  He 
converfed  with  me  with  great  franknefs  on  the 
miflion  which  he  is  beginning  to  eftablifh,  and  God 
bleffes  his  zeal  and  the  ftudy  which  he  makes  of 
the  language,  which  he  begins  to  fpeak  better  than 
could  be  naturally  expedted  from  a  perfon  of  his 
age.  There  are  three  different  languages  in  his 
miflion,  the  Jakou-°  of  30  cabins,  the  Ounfpik  of 
10  or  12  cabins,  and  the  Toumika  who  are  in  {^vqw 
hamlets,  and  who  comprife  in  all  50  or  60  fmall  cabins. 
He  devotes  himfelf  only  to  this  laft  language,  and 
the  Tounika  being  the  moft  numerous  give  name  to 
the  miffion.  They  are  very  docile;  polygamy  is 
rare  among  them,  but  their  caprice  and  the  cuftom 
of  the  country  authorizes  repudiation  for  next  to 
nothing,  for  which  reafon  the  village  is  fcarcely 
peopled,  and  I  faw  hardly  any  children.  The  girls 
are  not  fo  loofe  or  bold  as  they  are  among  the 
Natchez  and  Taenfa.  They  acknowledge  nine 
gods,  the  fun,  thunder,  fire,  the  god  of  the  eaft, 
fouth,  north  and  well,  of  heaven  and  of  earth.  In 
each  cabin  there  is  a  great  poft  that  fupports  it,  at 

3^0  Apparently  the  Yazoos.  / 


/■■- 


134  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

the  foot  of  which  there  are  two  or  three  little 
earthen  pots  near  the  fire,  out  of  which  they  take 
a  little  afhes  to  put  in  thefe  pots,  from  I  know  not 
what  fuperftition.  This  is  the  poft  of  the  fpirit  or 
genius.  They  are  fo  clofe-mouthed  as  to  all  the 
myfterics  of  their  religion  that  the  miffionary 
cculd  net  difcover  anything  about  it.  The  women 
have  a  drefs  of  mulberry  cloth  which  they  fpin  like 
hemp  and  flax ;  it  is  a  ftrong,  thick  cloth.  Their 
petticoat  is  very  decent,  from  the  waift  to  below 
the  knees ;  there  is  a  fringe  very  well  worked  as 
well  as  their  mantle,  either  all  uniform  or  worked 
in  lozenges  or  in  fquares  or  in  ermine,  which  they 
wear  ufually  as  a  fa(h,  and  rarely  on  the  two  (boul- 
ders. Neither  men  nor  women  greafe  or  oil  their 
hair  like  all  our  Canadian  Indians,  but  this  is 
perhaps  from  lack  of  both  (greafe  and  oil),  bear's 
meat  and  deer  being  very  rare  in  their  village  as 
well  as  all  other  beafts.  The  womea  have  a  great 
trefs  of  hair  on  the  back  which  hangs  down  below 
the  waift ;  they  alfo  make  a  crown  of  it  around 
the  head.  Their  head  like  the  men's  is  flat.  Mo- 
thers carefully  put  their  children's  heads  in  prefs 
from  birth  to  render  them  flat.  Mofl:  of  the  men 
have  long  hair,  and  no  drefs  but  a  wretched  deer 
fkin.  Sometimes  they  too,  as  well  as  the  women, 
have  mantles  of  turkey  feathers  or  of  muflcrats 
fkins  well  woven  and  worked.  The  men  do 
herc'^what  peafants  do  in  France;  they  cultivate 
and  dig  the  earth,  plant  and  harveft  the  crops,  cut 
the  wood  and  bring  it  to  the  cabin,  drefs  the  deer 


'/ 


% 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijfijftppi.       135 

and  buffalo  Ikins  when  they  have  any.  They  drefs 
them  the  beft  of  ail  Indians  that  I  have  feen.  The 
women  do  only  indoor  work,  maice  the  earthen 
pots  and  their  clothes.  Their  cabins  are  round 
and  vaulted.  They  are  lathed  with  "canes  and 
plaftered  with  mud  from  bottom  to  top,  within 
and  without  with  a  good  covering  of  ftraw.  There 
is  no  light  except  by  the  door,  and  no  matter  how 
little  fire  there  is  (the  smoke  of  which' has  no 
cfcape  but  the  door)  it  is  as  hot  as  a  vapour  bath. 
At  night  a  lighted  torch  of  dried  canes  ferves  as  a 
candle  and  keeps  all  the  cabin  warm.  Their  bed 
is  of  round  canes,  raifed  on  four  ports,  three  feet 
high,  and  a  cane  mat  ferves  as  a  mattrafs.  Nothing 
is  neater  than  their  cabins.  You  lee  there  neither 
clothes,  nor  facks,  nor  kettles,  nor  hatchets,  nor  guns; 
they  carry  all  with  them  and  have  no  riches  but 
earthenpots  quite  well  made;  efpecially  little  glazed 
pitchers,  as  neat  as  you  would  fee  in  France ;  their 
granaries  are  near  their  cabins,  made  like  dove- 
cotes, built  on  four  large  ports  15  or  16  feet  high, 
well  put  together  and  well  polirtied,  fo  that  the 
mice  cannot  climb  up,  and  in  this  way  they  pro- 
tedt  their  corn  and  fquaflies,  which  are  rtill  better 
than  thofe  of  the  Illinois.  There  are  no  peaches 
in  this  village  as  there  at  the  Akanfea ;  but  fuch  an 
abundance  of  piakimina,  that  they  go  in  'he  woods 
with  their  families  to  harvert  them,  as  iiie  Illinois 
go  with  their  families  to  hunt  the  buffalo,  which 
is  very  rare  in  this  country,  where  they  live  on  this 
fruit  in  the  woods  for  a  month,  befides  which  they 


136  Father  Gravier*s  Voyage 

pound  and  dry  great  quantities  which  they  preferve 
for  a  long  time.  They  have  only  one  fmall  tem- 
ple raifed  on  a  mound  of  earth.  They  never  enter 
it,  Mr.  Davion  told  me,  except  when  going  to  or 
returning  from  war,  and  do  not  make  all  the  howl- 
ings  of  the  Taenfa  and  Natches  when  they  pafs  in 
front  of  their  temples,  where  there  is  always  an  old 
man  who  maintains  the  fire. 

Mr.  St.  Cofme  having  learned  that  Mr.  Davion 
was  in  extremis,  arrived  from  the  miffion  of  the 
Natches.  Before  my  departure  they  both  con- 
firmed Father  de  Limoge's  accident,  and  his  faving 
only  his  chalice  and  crucifix  of  all  that  he  had  with 
him.  They  gave  him  all  that  he  needed  to  go  to  the 
Fort  of  the  Mifliffipi,  greatly  edified  at  the  joy  and 
firmnefs  which  he  difplayed  in  the  very  confidera- 
ble  lofs  he  fuflained  of  all  the  miflion  furniture, 
blefling  God,  they  told  me,  for  thus  weaning  him 
from  all  he  had.  The  Natches,  Mr.  de  St.  Cofme 
afTured  me,Tare  far  from  being  as  docile  as  the 
Tounika.  They  pra<5tice  polygamy,  fleal  and  are 
very  vicious,  the  girls  and  women  more  than  the 
men  and  boys,  among  whom  there  is  much  to  re- 
form before  anything  can  be  expected  of  them. 
The  Taenfas,  who  fpeak  the  fame  language,  have 
the  fame  habits  also ;  their  village  is  twenty  leagues 
from  the  river  of  the  Tounika.  It  is  four  leagues 
inland.  After  one  league's  march,  you  come  to  a 
lake  where  there  are  always  a  number  of  alligators. 
It  muft  be  crofTed  in  a  canoe  to  reach  the  village, 
which  is  more  clofe  fet  than  that  of  the  Tounika. 


v^ 


•ri ' 


\^ 


I  • 


DoFwn  and  Up  the  Mijfijftppi.       137 

The  temple  having  been  reduced  to  afhes  laft 
year  by  lightning,  which  fell  on  a  matter  as  com- 
buftible  as  the  canes  with  which  it  is  thatched,  the 
old  man  who  is  its  guardian,  faid  that  the  fpirit  was 
incenfed  becaufe  no  one  was  put  to  death  on  the 
deceafe  of  the  laft  chief,  and  that  it  was  neceflary 
to  appeafe  him.  Five  women  had  the  cruelty  to 
caft  their  children  into  the  fire,  in  fight  of  the 
French  who  recounted  it  to  me,  or  rather  gave 
them  to  the  old  man  who  caft  them  into  the  fire 
while  making  his  invocations  and  chanting  with 
thefe  women  during  the  cruel  ceremony,  and  but 
for  the  French  there  would  have  been  a  great  many 
more  children  burnt.  The  chiefs  cabin  having 
been  converted  into  a  temple  the  five  unnatural 
mothers  were  borne  to  it  in  triumph  as  five  hero- 
ines. 

At  the  point  of  the  turn  where  the  village  is, 
the  river  is  not  over  an  arpent  and  i.  half  wide, 
and  forms  a  ft  rait,  where  it  is  very  difficult  to 
ftem  the  current,  and  it  is  here  that  Mr.  de  la 
Salle  fays  there  is  a  whirlpool  where  trees  plunge 
in  root  up  and  come  out  only  half  a  league  lower 
down.  I  did  not  perceive  this,  perhaps  it  occurred 
only  when  he  pafled  or  is  feen  only  from  time  to 
time.  After  meeting  with  heavy  rains  which 
would  have  inundated  all  our  baggage  by  night, 
had  I  flept  as  foundly  as  our  canoe  men,  we  had 
pretty  fair  weather  to  reach  the  Natches,  fouth  of 
the  Taenfas,  from  whom  they  are  only  twenty 
leagues  diftant.     After  mounting  a  Httle  bluff  you 


iO 


138  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

find  a  great  beaten  road  leading  to  a  rather  deep 
hill,  more  than  half  which  is  covered  in  the  high 
waters.  On  top  of  this  hill  you  difccrn  a  noble 
prairie.  The  mod  beaten  road  leads  to  the  village 
where  the  temple  is;  the  others  running  off  right 
and  left,  lead  to  different  hamlets.  There  are  only 
four  cabins  in  that  in  which  the  temple  is.  It  is 
very  fpacious  and  covered  with  cane  mats,  which 
they  renew  every  year  with  great  ceremonies, 
which  it  would  be  prolix  to  infert  here.  They 
begin  by  a  four  days'  fad  with  emetics,  till  blood 
comes.  There  is  no  window,  no  chimney  in  this 
temple,  and  it  is  only  by  the  light  of  the  fire  that 
you  can  fee  a  little,  and  then  the  door  which  is  very 
low  and  narrow  mud  be  open.  I  imagine  that  the 
obfcurity  of  the  place  infpires  them  with  refpedt. 
The  old  man  who  is  the  keeper,  keeps  the  fire  up 
and  takes  great  care  not  to  let  it  go  out.  It  is  in 
the  centre  of  the  temple  in  front  of  a  fort  of  mau- 
foleum  after  the  Indian  falhion.  There  are  three, 
about  eight  or  nine  feet  long,  fix  feet  broad  and 
nine  or  ten  feet  high.  They  are  fupported  by  four 
large  polls  covered  with  mats  of  canes  in  quite  neat 
columns  and  iurmounted  by  a  platform  of  plaited 
canes.  This  would  be  rather  graceful  were  it  not 
all  blackened  with  fmoke  and  covered  with  foot. 
There  is  a  large  mat  which  ferves  as  a  curtain  to 
cover  a  large  table,  covered  with  five  or  fix  cane 
mats  on  which  ilands  a  large  baiket  that  it  is  un- 
lawful to  open,  as  the  fpirit  of  each  nation  of  thofe 
quarters  repofes  there,  they  fay,  with  that  of  the 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjfippi,     139 

Natches.  I  am  provoked  at  myfelf  for  not  open 
•ng  the  bafket,  although  I  would  have  offended  the 
old  man  to  have  opened  the  curtain  and  touched 
this  bafket.  There  are  others  in  the  other  two 
maufoleums,  where  the  bones  of  their  chiefs  are, 
they  fay,  which  they  revere  as  divinities.  All  that 
I  faw  fomewhat  rare  was  a  piece  of  rock  cryftal, 
which  I  found  in  a  little  bafket.  I  faw  a  number 
of  little  earthen  pots,  platters,  and  cups,  and  little 
cane  bafkets,  all  well  made.  This  is  to  ferve  up 
food  to  the  fpirits  of  the  deceafed  chiefs,  and  the 
temple  keeper  finds  his  profit  in  it. 

After  examining  all  that  there  is  in  this  temple, 
I  law  neither  there  nor  elfewhere,  the  gold,  filver, 
or  precious  flones,  or  riches,  or  nine  fathoms  of 
fine  pearls  mentioned  by  the  author  of  a  relation 
printed  in  the  name  of  Mr.  de  Tonty,  and  which 
he  has  difavowed  to  one  who  reproached  him  with 
all  the  falfehoods  with  which  it  is  fluffed."  It  is 
alfo  a  fable,  what  that  writer  ventures  to  mention 
as  having  been  feen  by  Mr.  Tonty  in  a  little  clofet 
fet  in  the  mud  covered  wall,  where  I  neither  faw 
nor  tafled  the  exquifite  liquors  of  which  he  fpeaks. 
Thefe  things  are  all  invented  by  the  fame  writer  to. 
fet  off  his  account.  It  is  a  fad  that  the  chief's  wife 
has  fome  fmall  pearls,  which  are  neither  round  nor 
well  pierced,  but  about  feven  or  eight  which  are  as 

?«  The  real  narrative  of  the  Sieur  the  one  iflued  in  his  name  was  at 

de  Tonty  exifts,  but  only  an  im-  once  expofed  and  it  was  always  dif- 

pcrfeft  Englifh  tranflation  has  ap-  avowed  by  him. 
pearcd.     The  fiftitious  charafter  of 


140         Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

large  as  fmall  peas,  which  were  bought  for  more 
than  their  value  after  a  good  deal  of  feeking.  There 
are  none  of  the  riches  or  rareties  which  they  pre- 
tended were  to  be  found  in  the  temple  and  village. 
The  Frenchman  whom  M.  d'Iberville"  left  there 
to  learn  the  language,  told  me  that  on  the  death  of 
the  laft  chief,  they  put  to  death  two  women,  three 
men  and  three  children  ;  they  ftrangled  them  with 
a  bowftring,  and  this  cruel  ceremony  was  performed 
with  great  pomp,  thefe  wretched  vidlims  deeming 
themfelves  greatly  honored  to  accompany  their 
chief  by  a  violent  death.  There  were  only  feven  for 
the  great  chief  who  died  one  month  before.  His 
wife,  better  advifed  than  the  others,  did  not  wifh  to 
follow  him,  and  began  to  weep  when  they  wifhed 
to  oblige  her  to  accompany  her  hufband.  Mr.  de 
Montigni,  who  has  left  this  country  to  go  to  Siam, 
being  informed  of  what  they  were  accuftomed  to 
do,  made  them  promife  not  to  put  any  one  to  death. 
As  a  pledge  of  their  word  they  gave  him  a  little 


»»  Pierre  Le  Moyne  d'lbcrvjlle, 
Ton  of  Charles  Le  Moyne,  was  born 
at  Montreal,  July  20,  1661,  and  like 
all  his  brothers  entered  the  fcrvice 
of  the  King.  He  fcrvcd  firft  in  the 
Indian  wars,  was  then  font  by  Dc- 
nonvilic,  in  1686,  to  Hudfon's  bay, 
of  which  he  was  appointed  governor. 
He  gained  fcvcral  victories  here,  and 
fubfequently  took  Fort  Pemaquid, 
and  recovered  Newfoundland.  In 
1698,  he  failed  from  Rochelle, 
and  difcovering  the  mouth  of  the 
MifniTippi,    which    La    Salic    had 


mifled,  eftabliflicd  a  colony,  which 
he  left  under  the  command  of 
his  brothers,  de  Sauvolle  and  dc 
Bienville.  He  was  the  father  of 
Louifiana,  and  made  feveral  vovages 
to  it  bearing  colonills,  fupplies  and 
arms.  In  1706  he  failed  from 
France  with  a  large  fleet,  intended 
to  attack  Charlcfton,  but  (lopping 
at  St.  Domingo  died  there  of  the 
yellow  fever  July  9,  1706.  It  is 
a  reproach  that  no  detailed  memoir 
has  been  written  of  Iberville  and 
his  brother  Bienville. 


■ 


V        " 


■ 


■I  m 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjftppt.     14.1 

female  flave  whom  they  had  refolved  to  put  to 
death  but  for  his  prohibition :  but  to  keep  their 
curfed  cuflom  without  its  being  perceived,  the 
chief's  wife,  whom  they  call  Ouachil  Tamail,  fun- 
woman  (who  is  always  the  fifter  and  not  the  wife 
of  the  great  chief),  perfuaded  him  to  retire  to  a 
diflant  village  fo  as  not  to  have  his  head  fplit  with 
the  noife  they  would  make  in  a  ceremony  where 
all  were  to  take  part.  Mr.  de  Montigni  not  fuf- 
pedting  anything  believed  her  and  withdrew,  but 
in  his  abfence  they  put  to  death  thofe  whom  they 
believed  to  be  neceffary  to  go  to  cook  and  wait  on 
the  chief  in  the  other  world.  Only  the  old  men 
enter  the  temple  to  make  their  bowlings,  fuch  as  I 
faw  them  do^  after  kindling  the  fire. 

All  the  men  who  pafs  before  the  temple  lay 
down  what  they  carry,  and  extend  their  arms 
towards  the  temple  with  loud  bowlings,  and  if  they 
have  fmall  children  they  take  them  in  their  arms 
and  turning  towards  the  temple,  they  make  them 
touch  the  ground  three  times  with  the  forehead. 
They  make<thefe  fame  howls  when  they  pafs  before 
the  chief  or  the  woman  chief,  or  fpeak  to  them,  or 
give  them  food  or  drink  or  [a  pipe]  to  fmoke. 
The  woman  chief  has  much  ability  and  more  credit 
than  one  would  think;  her  brother  is  no  great 
genius  He  has  remarried  nine  times  without  any 
woman  being  able  to  ftay  with  him ;  they  have  all 
left  him  and  at  prefent  he  lives  alone  by  himfelf 

The  women  are  clothed  quite  properly  and  well 
covered  with  a  mantle  that  comes  down  below  the 

T 


» t 


14.2  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

knee.  Mod  of  them  have  black  teeth,  it  is  a  beauty 
among  them.  They  blacken  them  by  chewing  the 
coal  of  tobacco,  with  the  aflies  of  which  they  rub 
the  teeth  every  morning. 

The  corn  was  not  yet  gathered  in.  The  firft 
harveft  is  made  in  thefe  parts  in  the  month  of  June ; 
and  the  fecond,  which  is  the  moil  abundant,  is  not 
made  till  the  end  of  November.  Befides  offering 
their  firfl  fruits  in  the  temple  in  this  village,  the 
woman  chief  made  the  harveft  of  corn  for  the 
temple,  and  no  one  durft  refufe  what  her  emiiTaries 
chofe  to  take.  This  harveft  is  made  for  the  chief 
and  the  woman  chief,  and  to  furnifti  food  to  the 
fpirits  of  the  deceafed  chiefs ;  but  all  take  part  in 
the  feaft  made  to  them  for  fix  days  with  the  ordinary 
howls,  cries  and  ceremonies,  which  they  do  not 
wifh  to  explain  to  the  miflionaries,  to  whom  for  all 
anfwer  they  fay :  Nou-kout  that  is  t-«  fay,  /  do  not 
know  why  it  is  done.  All  depends  on  the  commif- 
fion  of  the  chiefs  who  have  too  great  an  intereft  in 
pafling  for  fpirits  among  their  people  to  embrace 
Chriftian  humility  fo  foon.*3 


13  The  Natchez  are  the  tribe  of 
the  Lower  Mifliflippi,  bcil  known 
to  all  readers  from  the  maiTacre 
which  they  committed  on  the 
French  and  the  exterminating  war 
confequently  waged  againll  them. 
Known  perhaps  to  the  Spaniards  as 
early  as  1560,  when  Tridan  dc 
Luna  marched  againll  them.  They 
are  next  mentioned  by  the  chroni- 
clers of  La  Salle's  expedition,  and 


as  we  have  feen  were  vi/ited  by  the 
miflionary  St.  Come,  who  gained 
their  aifcdion,  but  did  not  fuccecd 
in  converting  many.  After  his  death 
no  miflionary  rcfided  there  to  check 
the  injuftice  of  the  whites ;  war  en- 
fued  in  1716-23,  but  though  peace 
was  made,  reientment  remained, 
and  in  1729  they  rofe  againft  the 
French,  in  confequence  of  the  ty- 
ranny of  a  French  commandant, 


• 


'V 


' 


' 


■ 


V       • 


; 


Down  end  Up  the  Mijftjftppi.       143 

We  left  this  village  of  the  Natchez  on  the  24th 
and  25th  of  November.  We  difcovered  the  hills 
of  the  Houmas**  on  the  fouth  of  the  Mifliflipi, 
which  forms  a  bay,  that  you  enter,  leaving  the  main 
channel  on  the  right,  i  s  a  good  league  and  a 
half  from  the  landing  to  the  village  of  the  Houmas 
by  a  bad  enough  road,  all  ups  and  dowi.  >  and  bend- 
ing half  double  in  the  canes.  The  village  is  fituated 
on  the  cred  of  a  mountain  rugged  and  precipitous 
on  all  fides.  There  are  eighty  cabins,  and  in  the 
middle  of  the  village  a  fine  level  fquare,  where  from 
morning  to  night  there  are  young  men  who  exer- 
cife  themfelves  in  running  after  a  flat  ftone  which 
they  throw  in  the  air  from  one  end  of  the  fquare  to 


■ 


The  French,  aided  by  the  Choc- 
taws,  then  attacked  them,  and  dc- 
ftroycd  their  national  exigence. 
Many  pcriflied,  many  were  taken 
and  fold  as  flavcs  in  the  Weft  In- 
dies, the  reft  ded  to  the  Chickalaws, 
and  as  this  involved  them  in  war, 
retired  finally  to  the  Creeks,  where 
a  remnant  dill  remains.  Their 
language  was  peculiar  to  themfelvcs, 
and  the  Taenfas.  {Du  Pratz, 
Montigtii,  arte  p.  76.)  , 

»4  The  Houmas  or  Oumas,  the 
tribe  here  dcfcribcd,  and  one  of  the 
fird  whom  any  attempt  was  made 
to  convert,  gave  flieltcr  in  1706  to 
the  Tonicas,  who  had  been  driven 
from  their  village  by  the  Chicka- 
faws  and  Alabamas,  at  the  iniliga- 
tion  of  the  Engl  ifh ;  but  the  Tonicas 


played  the  fame  trcachcrv  towards 
them  that  the  Taenfas  did  to  the 
Baiougoulas,  furprifing  them,  and 
killing  more  than  half  the  nation. 
The  furvivors  fled  to  the  Bayou  St. 
Jean,  which  flows  into  Lake  Pon- 
chartrain  near  the  fitc  of  New  Or- 
leans. (La  Harpc,  Journal  Hiftor- 
iguc,  1''^.)  Charlevoix,  in  1721, 
found  ihem  a  little  higher  up  (vol. 
in,  p.  4.^6).  A  few  huts  of  this 
nation  dill  cxid  on  the  Red  river, 
according  to  fome  accounts,  and 
below  Manchac  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Attakapas,  according  to  others. 
The  name  is  Chodtaw,  and  means 
red  men,  from  humma,  reti  {Artb- 
aol.  Americana,  11,115-17);  but 
no  vocabulary  of  the  language  en- 
ables us  to  decide  to  what  divilton 
they  belonged. 


14-4  Father  Gravier*s  Voyage 

the  other,  and  which  they  try  to  have  fall  on  two 
cylinders  that  they  roll  where  they  think  that  the 
ftone  will  fall.  The  temple  has  nothing  handfome 
but  the  veftibule  which  is  adorned  with  the  mofl 
agreeable  grotefques  and  the  beft  made  almoft  that 
one  could  fee.  They  are  four  fatyrs,  two  of  whom 
are  en  bojfe,  all  four  {landing  out  from  the  wall, 
having  around  the  head,  hands  and  feet  in  bands, 
bracelets,  garters,  baldrics  and  belts,  fnakes,  mice 
and  dogs.  The  colors  are  black,  white,  red  and 
yellow,  and  fo  well  applied  and  without  confufion, 
that  it  is  a  fpedtacle  that  furprifes  agreeably.  The 
old  man  who  keeps  up  the  fire  which  he  called  to 
us  louak  or  loughs  (facred  fire),  fhowed  us  the  bones 
of  the  woman  chief  who  died  lafl  year.  This 
woman  had  rendered  herfelf  fo  important  by  the 
blows  ihe  had  ftruck  againfl  the  enemy,  having  led 
feveral  war  parties  in  perfon,  that  fhe  was  regarded 
as  an  amazon  and  as  the  miflrefs  of  the  whole  vil- 
lage, and  more  honor  was  paid  to  her  than  to  the 
great  chief.  She  had  the  firfl  place  in  all  councils, 
and  when  fhe  walked  fhe  was  always  preceded  by 
four  young  men  who  fang  and  danced  the  calumet  to 
her.  She  was  drefTed  as  an  Amazon,  painted  her  face 
and  had  her  hair  drefTed  like  the  men.  They  do  not 
make  in  this  village  any  of  all  the  bowlings  ufual 
among  the  Natchez  when  they  pafs  before  the 
temple,  oppofite  which  there  is  a  chapel  fifty  feet 
long  which  Father  du  Rut  built  lafl  fpring,  with  a 
large  crofs  35  or  40  feet  high,  that  he  planted  in 
the  village  fquare. 


\     ' 


1  I 


I 


Down  and  Up  the  MiJJifftppi.     14.5 

Father  de  Limoges  had  arrived  there  two  or 
three  days  before  to  refide  there  and  labor  in  con- 
verting the  Houmas,  who  feem  to  me  very  docile. 
The  great  chief  is  very  reafonable  and  faid  that  he 
acknowledged  only  one  Great  Spirit  who  had  made 
all  things.  I  counted  leventy  cabins  in  the  village 
which  I  vifited  with  Father  de  Limoges,  who 
kindly  gave  me  the  firfl  fruits  of  his  miflion  in  the 
baptifm  of  a  child  three  days  old  which  I  performed, 
giving  it  the  name  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  patron  of 
the  million,  to  whom  God  opened  Paradife  a  few 
days  after,  that  he  might  there  labor  to  convert  his 
parents  and  countrymen. 

On  the  3d  of  December  we  celebrated  the  feaft 
of  that  great  faint  as  folemnly  as  we  could,  and  I 
fang  the  firfl  high  mafs  ever  heard  in  the  village. 
I  was  furprifed  at  their  little  curiofity.  If  the  Mif- 
iiflipi  is  fettled  and  this  miffion  is  not  taken  from 
us,  there  is  reafon  to  hope,  from  the  docility  of  thefe 
poor  people,  that  good  will  be  done  there.  The 
women  and  girls  there  have  more  mpdeily  than 
among  the  neighboring  nations.  God  deign  to 
convert  them  and  render  the  road  to  their  village 
impafTable  to  certain  French  libertines.  All  that 
they  do  to  their  fick  is  to  iuck  them  till  blood 
comes.  I  faw  one  in  the  hands  of  the  old  medicine 
men  (jongleurs)  one  of  whom  whirled  and  played 
on  a  gourd,  another  fucked,  and  another  fang  the 
fong  of  the  alligator,  the  fkin  of  which  ferved  him 
as  a  drum. 

As  they  reft  fatifiied  with  their  fqualhes  and  corn. 


14.6         Father  Gravier*s  Voyage 

of  which  they  have  plenty,  they  are  indolent  and 
feldom  go  hunting.  They  have  withal  the  re- 
putation of  being  warriors  and  being  feared  by 
neighboring  nations.  They  are  not  cruel  and  very 
far  from  putting  to  death  any  of  the  flaves  they 
make ;  as  foon  as  they  enter  the  village  the  women 
weep  over  them,  compaflionating  their  being  taken, 
and  then  treat  them  better  than  their  children. 
When  any  of  their  people  go  hunting,  the  women 
begin  to  cry  as  if  they  were  going  to  lofe  them, 
and  when  they  return  from  the  hunt  weep  with 
joy  to  fee  them  again. 

There  are  few  villages  in  France  where  there  are 
more  cocks  and  hens  than  in  that  of  the  Houmas,*s 
for  they  never  kill  them,  and  will  not  even  eat  thofe 
killed  frequently  by  the  dogs.  When  you  wifli  to 
get  chickens  from  them,  you  muft  not  fay  that  you 
wifh  to  kill  or  eat  them,  as  they  would  be  reluftant 
to  give  them,  but  they  will  fell  them  readily  when 
they  are  not  killed  in  their  prefence,  or  when  people 
tell  them  they  carry  them  away  to  bring  them  up 
as  they  do.  The  hens  have  chickens  at  all  times, 
and  they  were  running  around  in  all  the  cabins 
in  the  month  of  December.  They  keep  warm 
in  thefe  cabins,  which  they  take  care  to  keep  clean 
and  fweep  two  or  three  times  a  day. 

The  children,  men  and  youth  are  drelTed  like  the 
Tounikas.     The  women  wear  a  fringed  robe,  which 

»S  Thcfc  were  got  originally  from  this,  been  kept  as  curiofitics,  or  pcr- 
a  vefll'l  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  the  '  haps  objcfts  of  fupcrftition,  and  not 
Mifllffippi,  and  had,  as  wc  fee  by     as  articles  of  food. 


\^: 


U: 


\^ 


Down  and  Up  the  MiJJifftppL       147 

covers  them  from  the  waift  to  below  the  knee. 
When  they  leave  their  cabins  they  put  on  a  robe  of 
mulkrat  Ikins  or  turkey  feathers.  They  have  the 
face  tattoed  [piqu^  et  figuri)  and  the  hair  plaited 
like  the  Tounika  and  Natches,  and  blacken  the 
teeth  like  them.  Although  all  Indians  are  ex- 
tremely afraid  of  cold,  at  the  leaft  froft  (for  there  is 
no  winter)  they  go  bathing,  big  and  little,  and 
come  out  of  the  water  perilling  with  cold.  An 
old  man  gives  the  cry  at  day  break  when  it  freezes. 
Thefe  kinds  of  baths  fometimes  caufe  the  bloody 
flux,  which  carries  off  many.  Father  de  Limoges 
begins  to  make  himfelf  underftood  and  will  do  good 
in  that  miflion.  He  recounted  his  wreck  to  me, 
in  which  he  lofl:  everything,  and  the  lofs  is  more 
ferious  than  you  would  think.  More  than  one 
miflion  will  feel  it ;  it  was  by  letting  themfelves 
drift  off  in  the  current  by  night,  that  their  canoe 
ftruck  againfl:  a  tree  which  had  flopped  in  the 
middle  of  the  current  and  fent  it  wheeling  round 
and  turning  on  the  fide  full  of  water,  and  if  he  had 
not  quickly  caught  hold  of  the  tree,  he  would  have 
drowned  half  afleep.  He  loft  all  but  his  chalice, 
which  he  got  out  of  the  box,  I  know  not  how. 
This  is  all  that  he  could  fave,  and  it  is  a  kind  of 
miracle  that  he  faved  his  own  life,  after  Aruggling 
for  it  almoft  three  hours,  by  means  of  a  bough  of 
a  tree  borne  down  by  the  current,  to  which  he  and 
his  two  failors  clung.  He  let  the  current  carry  him 
down,  and  it  at  laft  drove  him  afliore,  where  being 
without  fire  they  dried  their  clothes  in  the  wind 


14-8  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

and  fun  as  beft  they  could,  and  made  a  raft  of  three 
or  four  pieces  of  floating  wood  which  they  tied  to- 
gether with  ivy,  and  failed  for  three  days  on  this  new 
canoe,  always  between  two  waters,  with  nothing  to 
eat  all  the  time  but  a  little  wild  purflain  raw.  This 
beloved  miflionary  told  me  that  he  with  fruit 
thought  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  difputing  his  life  as 
many  days  with  the  waters  on  a  bit  of  plank.  On 
the  fourth  day  he  difcovered  the  fire  of  fome  Akan- 
fea  who  ^ were  hunting.  They  received  him  and 
his  companions  very  kindly,  gave  them  food  and 
took  them  to  their  village,  where  the  Father  found 
his  canoe,  which  had  caught  in  fome  drift  wood. 
He  has  fince  been  equipped  with  all  that  is  neceflary 
for  his  Houma  million,  from  which  I  fet  out  De- 
cember 4th,  and  after  three  leagues  fail  we  found 
on  the  north  fide  of  the  Mifliflfipi  the  Red  river  of 
which  they  fpeak  fo  much.  If  the  third  attempt 
which  the  French  have  made  there  in  the  laft  feven 
or  eight  months  fucceeds,  the  mifiionaries  will  have 
a  paffage  to  go  there  and  vifit  various  nations  that 
line  this  river  which  runs  foutheaft ;  they  are  almoft 
all  only  little  hamlets  like  the  Natches,  which 
makes  thofe  who  wifli  to  give  great  ideas  of  all 
thefe  nations  fay  that  there  are  villages  without  end 
and  three,  four,  five  and  fix  leagues  in  extent,  wifh' 
ing  to  pafs  oflf  hamlets  of  three  or  four  cabins, 
feparated  from  each  other  for  the  convenience  of 
the  ground,  for  fo  many  villages  of  the  fame  nation. 
Mr.  de  Bienville*^  who  has  penetrated  the  furtheft 

*6  Le  Moyne  de  Bienville  was  a     governor  of  Louifiana  on  the  death 
brother  of  Iberville,  and  became     of  his  brother,  Le  Moyne  de  Sau- 


\- 


Down  and  Up  the  MiJJiJpppi,      149 

told  me  that  it  was  all  overflowed  in  the  months  of 
March  and  April,  that  there  were  fmall  heights 
among  the  Natchitoch  quite  thickly  peopled,  where 
the  corn  came  up  to  his  fhoulder. 

At  the  end  of  March  Mr.  de  St.  Denis*^  is  to  go 
to  the  Kadodakio,*^  and  inftead  of  going  by  the 
way  of  the  Senis,  where  the  murderers  of  Mr.  de  la 
Salle  had  retired,  he  is  to  take  the  left  and  pufh  on 
to  the  Kiouahaa,*'  the  moft  remote  known,  where 
they  hope  to  find  mines.  He  is  to  be  back  here 
at  the  clofe  of  this  month,  and  if  he  does  not  find 
filver  mines  they  have  nothing  lefs  than  what  they 


volle,Aug.  22, 1700.  Heremainedin 
office  till  1712,  M.  du  Muys,  named 
to  fiiccced  him  in  1 707,  having  died 
on  the  way.  From  171 2  he  was 
Lieutenant  Governor  under  La 
Mothe  Cadillac,  and  next  Governor 
under  Crozat  and  the  MiflifTippi 
Company  in  1726,  when  he  was 
fucceeded  by  M.  Perier,  but  was 
reappointed  in  1734,  and  continued 
in  office  till  after  his  futile  Chicka- 
faw  campaign  in  1739.  He  then 
returned  to  France  and  lived  to  fee 
his  native  Canada  pafs  into  the  hands 
of  England,  and  Louillana,  founded 
and  buih  up  by  himfclf  and  his  bro- 
thers, pafs  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards.  He  died  at  Paris,  March 

7.  »767- 

»7juchereau  de  St.  Denis  was 
one  of  the  firft  to  join  the  colony  of 
Louifiana.  In  1714  he  explored 
the  Red  River  fully,  and  the  next 
year  made  his  way  to  the  Spanifh 
polls  to  negotiate  a  commercial 
treaty.     His  career  was  full  of  ro- 


mance,  and  after  marrying  a  Spanifh 
lady  and  being  font  in  chains  to 
Mexico,  he  at  lafl:  returnod  to  Mo* 
bile. 

28  The  Cadodakios  or  Caddoes 
a  divifion  of  the  Texas  or  Senis,  are 
firft  mentioned  (ante  3 1  n.),  by  Jou-  ^ 
tel,  who,  p.  278,  makes  them  allies  of ' 
the  Aflbny,  Natfohos  and  Nachitos. 
Father  Anaftafms  alfo  defcribes 
them  (Le  Clercq  Etah.  de  la  Foi). 
They  were  then  on  Red  River, 
where  a  few  of  the  Caddoes  and 
Natchitoches  ftill  remain.  Later 
writers  fhow  their  languages  to  be 
different  (Archaol.  jimericana,  11, 
46).  Some  have  endeavored  to 
identify  them  with  the  NifTohone  and 
Naquizcoza  and  Nazacahoz,  men- 
tioned by  the  Fidalgo  of  Elvas  as  on 
the  Daycao  river,  p.  110-2  (ed. 
1844). 

a9  Kiouahaa,  compare  Cavelier's 
account  (ante  p.  74)  where  '""" 
Kouaras  are  mentioned. 


the 


150  Father  Gravier*s  Voyage 

feek  in  the  fettlement  of  the  Mifliflipi,  which  over- 
flows all  the  land  for  eighty  leagues  and  more  from 
its  mouth,  except  fome  little  cantons. 

On  the  loth  we  faid  the  mafs  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier  to  begin  the  devotion  of  the  Ten  Fridays. 
The  next  day  we  reached  the  crofs  which  marks 
the  village  of  the  Baiougoula,5°  on  the  north  of  the 
MilTifTipi  and  40  leagues  from  the  Houmas.  As 
the  waters  have  been  extremely  high  this  year  they 
have  undermined  the  cliff  more  than  ten  feet  along, 
fo  that  the  crofs  has  fallen  with  the  earth  that  Aid 
down.  I  did  not  go  up  to  the  village  and  it  was 
only  on  my  return  from  Bilocchi  that  I  vifited  the 
Baiougoula,  who  maflfacred  the  chief  of  the  Mon- 
goulacha  with  more  than  two  hundred  men  of  that 
nation,  which  was  very  friendly  to  the  French  and 
which  formed  a  village  with  the  Baiougoula  as  the 
Pioiiaroiia  do  with  the  Kalkafkia.  The  blood  of 
fo  many  innocent  perfons  cries  vengeance  and  God 
begins  to  punifli  them  by  famine  and  ficknefs  and 
they  muft  be  in  fear  left  the  Houmas  and  Kolapiflas 
avenge  the  murder  of  all  their  allies.  I  never  faw 
anything  fo  beggarly.  I  know  fome  words  of  their 
language;  but  as  more  than  two  thirds  were  abfent 


30  The  Baiougoulas  and  Mon- 
goulachas  were  allies,  but  a  difputc 
aridng  the  chief  of  the  former  plan- 
ned a  maflacre  of  the  Mongoulachas 
and  almofl  exterminated  them,  but 
the  Baiougoulas  foon  fell  a  viflim 
to  a  fimilar  aft  of  treachery  in  1 706, 
for  having  received  the  Tonicas  into 
their  village,  they  were  furprifed 


and  almoft  all  maflacred  by  their 
perfidious  guefts.  La  Harpe,  98. 
Small  pox  fwept  off  many  of  the 
warriors,  and  in  1 721  not  a  family 
of  them  was  known  to  cxill.  Charle- 
voix, m,  436.  The  name  is  Choc- 
taw, and  may  be  White  oak  people, 
from  baie^  white  oak,  ogula  OTokle, 
nation. 


-' 


It 


1 1 


f. 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjftppi,     151 

from  their  village,  whence  they  had  been  driven  by 
hunger,  I  remained  only  four  days.  They  pro- 
mifed  to  rebuild  the  chapel  and  do  all  that  I  afked, 
but  unlefs  the  chief  is  very  far  from  there,  there  is 
not  much  for  a  mifHonary  to  do.  I  planted  a  large 
crofs  on  the  bank  inflead  of  that  carried  away  by 
the  waters.     They  rofe  twenty  feet  high. 

Five  leaf"-"  below  the  village  you  find  on  the 
north  fide  a  .aCtie  arm  of  the  Mifiifiipi  of  which 
Mr.  de  la  Salle  fpeaks,  which  he  fays  has  over  thirty 
fathoms  water  and  is  very  convenient  for  large  vef- 
fels ;  but  M.  de  Iberville,  who  explored  and  founded 
it,  did  not  find  water  enough  for  a  boat.  The 
more  we  approach  the  lower  end  of  the  Miffiffipi, 
the  more  we  go  eail  and  eaft  foutheafl.  We  found 
alfo  (Ironger  currents  and  wretched  cabinage,  and 
in  the  tide  waters  potter's  clay  conftantly ;  or  elfe 
you  mufl  ftrike  far  into  the  woods,  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  penetrate  and  not  meet  cane  thickets  out  of 
which  it  is  hard  to  get. 

From  the  Natches  we  lived  entirely  on  Indian 
corn  and  a  few  fquafhes,  fince  for  fome  time  back 
we  met  in  thefe  parts  neither  buffalo,  deer  nor  bear ; 
and  if  we  found  any  buflards  or  wild  geefe,  they  were 
fo  lean  that  they  were  as  taftelefs  as  wood,  which 
makes  all  our  canoe  men  figh  often  for  the  river  of 
the  Illinois  and  the  beauty  of  the  country  and  land- 
ings and  its  plenty  of  buffalo  and  deer  and  all  forts 
of  fat  and  excellent  game.  It  is  a  long  voyage 
this  down  the  Mifiiflipi,  very  tedious  and  very  dif  • 


r 


152  Father  Gravier^s  Voyage 

ficult,  efpecially  coming  back,  and  very  inconven- 
ient on  account  of  the  gnats  and  other  Hies,  called 
maringouins,  brulots  and  mouftiques,  the  great 
rains,  the  exceflive  heats,  the  wrretched  landings,  in 
mud  and  potter's  clay,  often  knee  deep,  and  for  the 
fcanty  fare.  Unlefs  you  ftart  v^rith  a  canoe  half 
loaded  with  provitions,  you  muil  expedt  to  fad  well, 
and  I  could  hardly  believe  that  our  Indians  from 
above  and  from  the  Illinois  country  will  come  here 
to  get  goods  fuch  a  diflance  with  fo  much  toil  and 
rifk.  The  periagua  of  the  Baioligoulas  which  we 
met  did  not  make  over  three  or  four  leagues  a  day. 
They  were  badly  clothed  for  the  feafon,  for  they 
had  only  half  a  deer  fkin  to  protedt  themfelves  from 
the  cold,  and  there  was  one  old  woman  fo  wretched 
that  (he  had  only  a  little  mofs  to  cover  herfelf. 
Many  old  people  among  all  thefe  Indians  have  no 
other  clothing. 

At  laft,  on  the  1 7th  of  December,  I  reached  the 
Fort  of  the  Mifliffipi,3'  after  68  days  fail  down. 
This  firft  eftablifliment  is  on  the  fouth  fide  of  the 
river,  eighteen  leagues  from  its  mouth.  There  is 
no  fort  nor  baftion,  entrenchment  or  redoubt ;  all 
confifts  of  a  battery  of  fix  guns,  fix  and  eight 
pounders,  planted  on  the  brow  of  the  bluff,  and  of 
five  or  fix  cabins  feparate  from  each  other  and  co- 
vered with  palm  leaves.  The  commandant  Mr.  de 
Bienville  has  quite  a  nice  little  houfe  there.     I  per- 


31  Fort  of  the  Mifliffippi  was,  it 
is  faid,    on  Poverty  Point,   about 


thirty-eight  miles  below  the  city  of 
New  Orleans. 


Down  and  Up  the  Mifftjftppi.      153 

ccived  on  arriving  that  they  began  to  cry  Famine, 
and  that  the  bread  fluffs  began  to  run  out,  which 
obliged  me  to  take  to  Indian  food  fo  as  to  be  a 
burthen  to  none,  and  put  up  with  Indian  corn  with- 
out meat  or  fifli  till  the  veflels  come  which  arc 
hardly  expedled  before  the  end  of  March.  If  the 
Mifliflipi  is  fettled  they  will  tranffer  the  fort,  or 
rather  they  will  build  it  at  the  Baiagoulas,  forty 
leagues  further  up,  for  the  high  waters  overflow  fo 
furioufly  here  that  they  have  been  four  months  in 
the  water  often  knee  deep  outfide  of  their  cabins, 
although  the  Indians  had  aflTured  them  that  this 
place  was  never  inundated.  The  wheat  which  had 
been  planted  here  was  already  quite  high  when  the 
inundations  caufed  b"  a  furious  fwell  of  the  fea  in 
the  month  of  Auguft  *wept  it  away.  The  garden 
was  hardly  more  fucceflful,  befides  there  being  a 
great  quantity  of  black  fnakes  that  eat  the  lettuces 
and  other  vegetables  off  to  the  root.  As  for  fort 
Bilocchi,  thirty  leagues  from  here,  befides  the  air 
being  better  there,  the  country  more  open,  all  kinds 
of  garden  vegetables  can  be  raifed.  The  deer  are 
near  and  the  hunting  very  good;  and  to  temper 
the  heat,  which  would  be  exceffive,  every  day  an 
hour  or  two  before  noon  there  comes  a  breeze  from 
the  fea  which  they  call  the  breeze  that  cools  the 
air.  There  is  only  the  water  that  is  not  very  good. 
It  is  a  little  fpring  that  fupplies  them ;  for  that  of 
the  bay  is  more  than  brackifli  and  is  not  drinkable. 
This  bay,  which  gives  name  to  the  fort,  takes  its 
own  from  the  Bilocchi  Indians,  who  are  neareft  to 

u    ■ 


154  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

it,  and  is  called  Bilocchi  bay.''*  There  are  more 
than  1 20  men  in  this  fort,  which  is  very  regular, 
with  12  pieces  of  cannon  and  as  many  pedereros 
planted  on  the  baftions.  Only  boats  and  the  ferry 
boat  which  carries  only  a  hundred  tons  can  enter 
this  bay ;  (hips  cannot  come  within  five  leagues  of 
it  and  remain  at  anchor  before  an  ifland  where  there 
is  good  anchorage  and  which  is  called  Ship  ifland. 
There  is  no  port  in  all  this  country  except  Penfa- 
cola,  of  which  the  Spaniards  have  taken  pofTefHon, 
and  where  they  had  fettled  only  three  weeks  before 
Mr.  d'  Iberville  reached  the  coaft.  Fort  Bilocchi 
is  only  thirty  leagues  from  the  Spanifh  fort.  The 
governor's  enterprife  fucceeded  badly  laft  year. 
Having  advanced  with  two  fhips  he  was  furprifed 
to  6nd  four  large  vefTels  at  the  anchorage  and  a 
ftrong  garrifbn  in  the  fort.  He  faid,  out  of  polite- 
nefs  to  the  officers,  that  he  was  vifiting  the  coafl  to 
drive  off  the  Englifh.  Mr.  d'  Iberville,  who  vifited 
the  Mifliflipi,  had  cautioned  them  to  adt  prudently 
with  the  Spaniards  and  to  receive  the  governor  well 
if  he  came  on  board,  according  to  the  orders  which 
he  himfelf  had  received  from  the  court.  He  was 
regaled  magnificently,  Vive  le  Roy  de  France y  Vive 
leR(y  itEfpagnet  Vive  Mr.  d  Iberville^  with  many  a 
falute  of  the  cannon,  and  on  departing   he  left  a 

3*  Bilocchi  or  Biloxi,  io  named  almoft  as  unrucccflTul.     The  Biloxi 

from  a  tribe  fo  called,  never  rose  to  Indians     retired    to    Pearl     river. 

any  importance.     The  pofition  was  Charlevoix,   ii,  449.     A  remnant 

illchofen;  the  ground  barren  and  is  faid  to  cxift   near   Natchitoehcs. 

fliips  could  not  reach  it.     It  was  Archaologia  Americana,  \\,  115. 
linaUy  abandoned  for  a  new  Biloxi, 


' 


I  I 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjfftppi.      155 

letter  for  Mr.  d*  Iberville.  It  was  his  propofitions 
which  he  very  well  knew  would  be  laughed  at. 
He  had  hardly  left  our  fhips  when  he  was  ftruck  in 
the  open  fea  by  a  fquall,  which  made  his  (hip  open 
and  go  down.  He  efcaped  in  a  boat  with  a  few  of 
his  people  and  returned  to  our  (hips.  Our  officers 
difplaying  more  regret  than  they  felt,  received  him 
perfectly  well,  generoufly  fupplied  him  with  every- 
thing ard  fent  him  back  in  a  double  floop  {cha- 
loupe  double)  with  all  the  oars  and  hats  off  to 
his  fort  at  Penfacola.  At  his  departure  he  wps 
again  faluted  by  a  difcharge  of  all  our  artillery.^' 
He  has  been  made  grand  mailer  of  all  the  artillery 
of  Spain,  and  his  major,  who  has  been  made  gov- 
ernor, fent  a  boat  to  Fort  Bilocchi  to  M.  de  Sauvol 
to  reclaim  ten  men  by  the  new  major,  pretending 
that  they  had  deferted,  but  at  bottom  it  was  only 
to  examine  the  fort,  which  does  not  fear  them,  and 
to  come  and  get  linen  and  goods,  for  they  lack  every- 
thing. They  bought  all  they  found  and  faid  that 
they  would  return  as  foon  as  they  knew  our  vefTels 
were  in.  Although  we  were  (hort  of  provifions,  at 
leaft  French  flour  (for  pork,  peas  and  beans  are  not 
fcarce  yet),  the  governor  had  the  Indian  corn  hid 
away^  and  made  French  bread  appear  throughout 
the  fort;  he  regaled  the  major  perfedily  with  poultry, 
fucking  pig  and  venifon,  madeira  wine.  The  crew 
was  regaled  in  proportion,  and  when  the  major  was 
going  they  gave  him  all  kinds  of  refrefliments  for 

33  Don  Andres  de  Arriola,  called     Enfayo  Cronokgico,  316,  I. 
in  the  French  accounu  de  la  Riole, 


'  ► 


156         Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

his  return,  and  a  coftly  gun  as  a  prefent  to  the  new 
governor. 

To  go  from  here  to  Fort  Bilocchi,  you  muft  on 
ftarting  make  a  portage  of  a  good  eighth  of  a  league 
knee  deep  in  mud  and  water,  and  take  in  a  fupply 
of  water  as  much  as  you  need  to  go  to  Bilocchi, 
for  the  little  river  you  meet  a  quarter  of  a  league 
from  here  is  brackifh,  that  is  to  fay  it  is  mingled 
with  fait  water.  It  empties  into  a  lake  two 
leagues  acrofs  and  after  running  five  or  fix  leagues 
foutheaft  on  the  fea  along  the  ides,  you  cut  north- 
weft  off  the  ifles  till  feven  leagues  from  the  fort, 
when  you  make  the  main  land  which  you  follow 
to  the  entrance  of  Bilocchi  bay,  in  light  of  the  fort 
where  you  muft  crofs. 

I  arrived  there  on  the  i  ft  day  of  the  year  1 700, 
and  was  well  received  by  the  governor.  I  found 
Father  du  Ru  there.  Beiides  the  fundtions  of  mif- 
(ionary  he  difcharges  alfo  thofe  of  chaplain  in  a  very 
edifying  manner.  I  fpent  only  a  week  with  him, 
and  was  eleven  days  in  getting  here  through  the 
fault  of  our  guide  who  loft  his  way,  and  made  us 
lofe  a  favorable  wind  which  would  have  brought 
us  to  the  fort  on  the  third  day,  but  after  uiing  up 
our  half  barrel  of  water  we  filled  it  with  brackiih 
water,  which  troubled  my  canoe  men  much  more 
than  me,  who  accuftom  myfelf  to  drink  hardly  any 
when  traveling.  We  all  had  poor  fare,  for  we 
were  reduced  for  four  days  to  Indian  corn  alone, 
and  it  was  as  hard  too  after  boiling  all  night  in  this 
fait  water  as  when  it  was  put  into  the  kettle.     We 


Down  and  Up  the  Mijftjffippi,      1 57 

went  on  the  fca  or  gulf  of  Mexico,  from  ifland  to 
ifland,  and  the  further  we  failed  the  more  we  got 
aftray.  In  this  extremity  with  our  water  almoft 
out  we  commended  ourfelves  to  God.  I  promifed 
to  make  a  novena  in  honor  of  St.  Francis  Xavier 
and  to  fay  mafs  in  thankfgiving  as  foon  as  I  reached 
the  fort.  The  next  day  we  reembarked  in  our  ca- 
noe, and  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  found 
ourfelves  at  Point  Aleri  which  we  had  doubled  four 
days  before,  v  hence  we  had  cut  to  the  iflands  off 
(hore.  We  had  made  .wo  long  croflings  of  five 
leagues  to  the  S.  S.  E.  and  in  fight  of  the  woods  of 
the  Mifliflipi.  We  c;  laft,  thank  God,  entered  a 
river  where  we  quenched  oui  *hirft  and  which  led 
us  to  an  eighth  of  a  league  from  the  Mifiifiipi, 
where  we  arrived  (?S>:}y  and  after  ;n  eighth  of  a 
league  portage  we  'ouwd  ourfelves  eight  leagues 
from  the  fort,  where  we  arrived  on  the  eleventh 
day  after  our  departure  from  Bilocchi.  But  for  the 
protection  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  we  ftiould,  I 
believe,  have  ftill  longer  cruifed  around  without 
water.  I  fet  out  the  next  day  for  the  Baiougoulas, 
who  are  forty  leagues  higher  up ;  I  did  there  only 
a  part  of  what  1  had  hoped,  having  found  few 
people.  God  did  me  the  grace  to  [allow  me  to] 
baptize  a  !i:He  dying  child  two  years  old,  to  which 
I  opened  iii  iven. 

I  have  been  back  at  this  fort  for  four  days.  The 
arrival  of  the  vefl!els  expected  from  day  to  day  will 
decide  me  as  to  what  I  (hall  do,  whether  I  fhall 
await  the  arrival  of  Mr.  d*  Iberville  or  go  up  again 

V 


158  Father  Gravier's  Voyage 

to  the  Illinois  by  the  firft  canoes.  No  fhip  can 
enter  the  Miffiffipi  if  it  draws  over  nine  or  ten  feet 
water,  for  there  are  only  eleven  at  the  mouth. 
The  entrance  once  pafled,  there  is  no  (hip  but 
can  fail  far  up  the  river.  There  are  15  or  16 
fathoms  here,  moft  of  the  ketches  which  draw  only 
nine  could  go  far  up,  for  the  Englifh  veflel  which 
Mr.  d'  Iberville  found  laft  year  eight  leagues  from 
here  drew  ftill  lefs.  The  captain  had  as  his  guide 
the  Relation  of  Mr.  de  la  Sailed*  and  fome  other 
very  bad  memoirs  which  mention  the  mouth  of 
this  river.  This  Englifliman  who  fpoke  of  it  to 
Mr.  de  Bienville  congratulated  himfelf  on  having 
been  able  to  find  the  entrance  of  the  Miffiffipi, 
about  which  one  of  thofe  that  wrote  is  an  apoftate,3S 
who  prefented  to  King  William  the  Relation  of  the 
Miffiffipi  where  he  never  was,  and  after  a  thoufand 
falfehoods  and  ridiculous  boafts,  pretends  to  (how 
the  juft  claims  and  inconteftable  rights  which  King 
William  has  over  the  Miffiffipi,  &c.  He  makes  Mr. 
de  la  Salle  appear  in  his  Relation  wounded  with  two 
balls  in  the  head,  turn  towards  the  Recolledt  Father 
Anaftafe,  to  afk  him  for  abfolution  (which  he  furely 
had  not  time  to  do)  having  been  killed  flark  dead 
without  uttering  a  word,  and  other  like  falfe  ftories. 


34  The  Relation  here  referred  to 
is  not  very  evident.  La  Salle  pub- 
liihed  no  account  perfonally,  and 
Hennepin,  Tonti  and  Le  Clerq, 
were  the  only  publifhed  accounts  at 
this  date. 


35  The  work  here  alluded  to  is 
the  Nouvelle  Dicouverte  of  Henne- 
pin, the  fiftitious  charafter  of  much 
of  which  has  been  fliown.  There 
is  nothing  in  his  work  to  fliow  how- 
ever that  he  left  either  the  Francif- 
can  order  or  the  Catholic  church. 


Ut 


\\  \ 


Donson  and  Up  the  Miffiffippi,      159 

I  do  not  know  what  the  court  will  decide  about 
the  Miffiffipi,  if  no  filver  mines  are  found,  for  it 
does  not  feek  lands  to  cultivate.  There  are  few 
fpots  for  more  than  eighty  leagues  hence  which  are 
not  inundated  at  the  great  overflow  of  the  Miffiffipi. 
They  have  not  yet  found  the  mines  they  fought ; 
they  care  little  for  thofe  of  lead,  which, are  very 
abundant  near  the  Illinois  and  higher  up  in  the 
Miffiffipi  on  the  Scioux  fide.  There  are  indeed 
many  fouls  to  gain  to  Chrift,  along  the  Miffiffipi, 
and  ftill  more  inland  and  on  Red  river,  but  there 
are  more  people  in  the  fingle  miffion  of  the  Illinois 
than  I  have  feen  among  the  Tounika,  Baiougoula 
and  Houmas,  and  than  there  is  among  the  Biloc  • 
chis,  among  the  Colapefras,3*  and  among  all  the 
Indians  of  Mobile  river  who  are,  between  Fort  Bi- 
locchi  and  that  of  the  Spaniards,  and  of  the  Panfa- 
colas  This  will  not  prevent  the  miffionaries  from 
finding  employment  in  every  village,  the  Indians 
of  which  feem  to  me  very  docile.  May  it  pleafe 
the  Lord  to  fend  them  men  whofe  zeal  will  open 
heaven  to  them  and  teach  them  the  way.  It  is  faid 
that  afcending  the  River  of  the  Mobilians,  numer- 
ous nations  are  found,  but  I  have  not  been  there. 

When  Mr.  de  la  Salle  came  by  fea  to  feek  the 
mouth  of  the  Miffiffipi  he  went  beyond  it  without 
perceiving  it,  till  he  was  fifteen  leagues  beyond, 
and  not  wiffiing  to  appear  to  have  miftaken,  he 

36  The  Colapiflas  have  entirely     hear  and  fee,"  from  hoklo,  to  hear, 
difappeared.  This  name  is  Choftaw     vrApiJfa,  to  fee. 
and  is  faid  to  mean,  "  Thofe  who 


i6o         Father  Gravier*s  Voyage 

pufhed  further  on  to  eighty  leagues  hence,  where 
he  built  a  fort,  and  in  the  defign  of  returning 
in  triumph  to  the  Illinois,  he  went  from  his  fort 
to  the  Senis,  inland  Indians,  and  it  was  from  their 
village  that  Mr.  Cavalier,  the  prieft,  fet  out  after 
his  brother's  tragic  death  to  return  overland  to  the 
Akanfea  and  thence  in  periaugue  to  the  Illinois  and 
at  lafl  to  Kebec  whence  he  embarked  to  return  to 
France  with  four  others. 

The  Spaniards  foon  after  made  themfelves  maf- 
ters  of  Mr.  de  la  Salle's  fort,  in  which  more  than 
1 50  perfons  perifhed  of  famine  and  ficknefs.  The 
Spaniards  took  off  the  reft  of  the  French  whom 
they  found  there  and  then  came  to  the  Senis,  where 
they  left  twenty  men  with  three  Francifcans,  and 
whence  they  took  two  Frenchmen  whom  they 
found  and  who  are  at  prefent  at  Fort  Bilocchi.^'  It 
is  from  thefe  two  Frenchmen  that  we  have  learned 
what  became  of  the  fad  remnants  of  Mr.  de  la  Salle's 
great  equipment,  for  he  had  400  men  when  he  left 
St.  Domingo  to  feek  the  mouth  of  the  Mifliffipi. 
It  was  among  the  Senis  that  the  murderers  of  Mr. 
de  la  Salle  made  themfelves  Indians  like  them  after 
fome  of  them  had  killed  each  other. 

Here  is  exactly.  Reverend  Father,  the  details  of 


37  Thefe  were  apparently  Peter 
and  John  Talon,  who  reached 
France  from  Vera  Cruz,  Sept.  14, 
1698,  and  whofe  examination  is 
ftill  preferved.  Iberville  took  them 
out  with  him  and  they  were  for 
two  years  in  Louifuna  in  the  King's 


fervice.  They  then  returned  to 
France  and  were  in  1704,  as  Iber- 
ville ftates,  "  dans  la  prifon  de  Por- 
tugal," whether  that  means  a  Portu- 
guefe  prifon  or  fome  prifon  at  Paris 
bearing  that  name. 


\ 


Down  and  Up  the  MiJJijffippi,     i6i 

my  voyage  and  all  that  I  could  learn  on  my  route, 
and  of  all  that  I  have  feen  and  remarked,  and  of  all 
that  I  have  learned  here  from  Mr.  de  Bienville, 
Mr.  d'  Iberville's  brother,  who  has  moft  explored  the 
country.  I  add  that  it  is  to  the  willows  and  not  to 
the  mulberries  that  the  iilkworms  attach  themfelves 
and  make  their  cocoons  in  this  country.  They 
could  not  make  the  firft  fettlement  in  a  fpot  where 
there  are  more  mufquitoes  than  here.'  They  are 
here  almoft  the  whole  year.  In  footh  they  have 
given  us  little  truce  for  feven  or  eight  days,  but  at 
this  moment  they  fling  me  in  clofe  ranks,  and  in 
the  month  of  December,  when  you  ought  not  to 
be  troubled  by  them,  there  was  fuch  a  furious 
quantity  that  I  could  not  write  a  word  without  hav- 
ing my  hands  and  face  covered,  and  it  was  impoffi- 
ble  for  me  to  fleep  the  whole  night.  They  ftung 
me  fo  in  one  eye  that  I  thought  I  would  lofe  it. 
The  French  of  this  fort  told  me  that  from  the 
month  of  March  there  is  fuch  a  prodigious  quantity 
that  the  air  was  darkened  with  them  and  that  they 
could  not  diftinguilh  each  other  ten  paces  apart. 

I  remain  here  till  the  arrival  of  Mr.  d*  Iberville, 
as  I  am  in  fome  fort  obliged  to  ferve  as  chaplain  to 
the  French  who  are  in  this  fort  and  of  whom 
feveral  are  Canadians.  I  have  much  to  fufFer  from 
thefe  importunate  infects  till  the  month  of  May, 
and  ftill  more  remounting  the  river,  fince  I  ihall 
not  be  able  to  do  fo  till  the  number  is  fo  great  that 
you  cannot  reft  by  night  nor  land  by  day  to  cook 
your  Indian  corn  without  being  devoured  by  them. 


1 62  Father  Gravter's  Voyage 

BleiTed  be  God  for  all.  I  ihould  be  content  with 
all,  coft  what  it  will,  provided  this  voyage  of  over 
a  thoufand  leagues  which  I  undertook  for  the  good 
of  our  upper  mifHons  be  of  fome  ufe  to  them,  as 
well  as  my  delay  which  has  been  only  the  better  to 
affure  me  of  the  truth. 

Pray  God  for  us,  Reverend  Father,  and  believe 
me  with  much  refpeft  in  the  love  of  our  Lord, 
Reverend  Father^ 

Your  very  humble  and 

obedient  fervant, 
James  Gravier. 


Since  this  letter  written  a  year  ago  laft  February 
(of  this  prefent  year,  1702),  the  French  abandoned 
the  two  pods  herein  mentioned,  on  the  Mifliflipi 
and  on  Bilocchi  bay  to  fettle,  at  the  river  called 
Mobile  from  the  name  of  the  Indians  who  have 
their  village  called  Mobilians.  This  river  enters 
the  fea  fifteen  leagues  this  fide  of  Bilocchi.  There 
are  two  iflands  a  (hort  diflance  from  its  mouth 
which  form  a  port  for  (hips,  and  afcending  in  boats 
for  fourteen  leagues  on  the  Mobile  you  find  now  a 
regular  fort  conftru€ted  by  Mr.  d'  Iberville  and 
houfes  for  the  fbldiers  and  for  fome  French  from 
Canada.  The  foil  is  very  good.  The  plan  of  a 
city  has  been  traced,  which  will  be  formed  of 
French  colonies  to  be  fent  there  if  the  court  thinks 
fit.  There  are  feveral  villages  of  Indians,  one,  two 
and  three  days*  journey  from  Fort  Mobile,  whom 


Down  and  Up  the  MiJftJJippi,     163 

the  new  miffionaries  will  be  able  to  inftrudt  in  our 
holy  religion. 


NOTE. 

The  infcription  which  F.  du  Ru  put  at  the  foot  of  the  crofs  which  he 
eredled  with  Mr.  d'Iberville  on  the  banks  of  the  Mifllflippi  river,  near  the 
French  fort. 

D.  O.  M. 
The  French,  as  they  had  firft  come  here,  firft 
from  Canada  under  De  la  Salle  in  the  year  1682 : 
fecondly  from  the  fame  place  under  de  Tonty 
in  the  year  168; ;  thirdly  from  the  feacoaft  under 
d'Iberville,  1699  ;  fourthly  from  the  fame  place 
under  the  fame  leader  in  the  year  1700, 
planted  this  crofs  February  14  in  the  fame  year 
1 700.     At  the  foot  whereof  an  altar  being  ere£ted 
a  prieft  of  the  fociety  of  Jefus  on  the  fame  day 
and  year  faid  mafs  and  duly  confecrated 
this  endofure  for  the  burial  of  the  dead. 


\^ 


V. 


GUIGNAS'S  VOYAGE 

UP  THE   MISSISSIPPI, 

1728 


GUIGNAS'S    VOYAGE 

UP    THE    MISSISSIPPI, 


Extrad  from  a  Letter  to  the  Marquis  de 
Beauharnais'  by  the  Reverend  Father 
Guignas,  Miffionary  of  the  Society  of 
Jefus,  dated  from  the  Miffion  of  St. 
Michael  the  Archangel,  at  Fort  Beau- 
harnais,  among  the  Sioux,  May  29, 
1728. 

>,HE  Sioux  convoy*  left  the  end  of  Montreal 
Ifland  on  the  16th  of  the  month  of  June, 
laft  year,  at  1 1  A.  M.  and  reached  Mich- 
ilimackinac  the   2 2d  of  the  month  of  July. 
This  poft  is  251  leagues  from  Montreal,  almofl 
due  weft,  at  45°  46m.  N.  latitude. 


I  The  llatcment  found  in  many 
works,  that  the  Marquis  de  Bcau- 
harnais  was  an  illegitimate  Ton  of 
Louis  XIV,  is  unfounded.  The 
hufband  of  Jofephine  was  not  de- 


fcended  from    the    Governor    of 
Canada.' 

2  Under  the  command  of  the 
Sicur  de  Lapcrriere.  {N.  Y.  Col. 
Doc,  ix,  1 01 6.) 


1 68  Father  Guignas's  Voyage 

Wc  fpent  the  reft  of  the  nionih  at  this  port  in 
the  hopes  of  receiving  from  day  to  day  fome  news 
from  Montreal,  and  in  the  defign  of  ftrengthening 
ourfelves  againft  the  alleged  extreme  difficulties  of 
getting  a  free  paflage  through  the  Foxes.  At  laft, 
feeing  nothing,  we  fet  out  on  our  march  the  ift  of 
the  month  of  Auguft  and  after  73  leagues  quite 
pleafant  fail  along  the  northerly  fide  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, running  to  the  S.  E.,  we  reached  the  Bay'  on 
the  8th  of  the  fame  month  at  5^  P.  M.  This 
poft  is  at  44°  43  m.  north  latitude.  We  ftopped 
there  two  days,  and  on  the  nth  in  the  morning 
we  embarked  in  a  very  great  impatience  to  reach 
the  Foxes. 

On  the  third  day  after  our  departure  from  the 
Bay,  quite  late  in  the  afternoon,  in  faft  fomewhat  in 
the  night,  the  chiefs  of  the  Puans*  came  out  three 
leagues  from  their  village  to  meet  the  French  with 
their  peace  calumets,  and  fome  bear  meat  as  a  re- 
freftiment,  and  the  next  day  we  were  received  by 
that  fmall  nation  {tres  pen  nombreux)  amid  feveral 
difcharges  of  a  few  guns  and  amid  great  demon ftra- 
tions  of  joy. 

They  afked  us  with  fo  good  a  grace  to  do  them 
the  honor  to  ftay-  fome  time  with  them,  that  we 
granted  them  the  reft  of  the  day  from  noon  and 
the  following  day. 

There  may  be  in  all  in  this  village  fixty  t"* 
eighty  men ;  but  all  men  and  women  of  very  tall 
ftature  and  well  made.     They  are  on  the  bank  of  a 

3  Green  Bay.  4  Winnebagoes. 


I  i 


up  the  MiftJftppL 


169 


very  pretty  little  lake  in  a  moft  agreeable  fpot  for 
its  fituation  and  the  goodnefs  of  the  foil,  nineteen 
leagues  from  the  Bay  and  eight  leagues  from  the 
Foxes. 

Early  the  next  morning,  the  1 5th  of  the  month 
of  Auguft,  the  convoy  prepared  to  continue  its  route 
with  quite  pleafant  weather ;  but  a  ftorm  coming 
on  in  the  fternoon,  we  arrived  quite  wet,  ftill  in 
the  rain,  at  the  cabins  of  the  Foxes,  a  nation  fo 
much  dreaded  and  really  fo  little  to  be  dreaded. 
From  all  that  we  could  fee,  it  is  compofed  of  200 
men  at  moft,  but  there  is  a  perfedt  hive  of  children, 
efpecially  boys  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  old,  well 
made  and  formed.  They  are  cabined  on  a  little 
eminence  on  the  bank  of  a  fmall  river,  that  bears 
their  name,  extremely  tortuous  or  winding,  fo 
that  you  are  conftantly  boxing  the  compafs.  Yet 
it  is  apparently  quite  wide,  with  a  chain  of  hills  on 
both  fides,  but  there  is  only  one  miferable  little 
channel  amid  this  extent  of  apparent  bed,  which  is 
a  kind  of  marfh  full  of  rufties  and  wild  rice  of  almoft 
impenetrable  thicknefs.  They  have  nothing  but 
mere  bark  cabins  without  any  kind  of  palifade  or 
other  fortification.  As  foon  as  the  French  canoes 
touched  their  (hore,  they  ran  down  with  their  peace 
cal  jmets  lighted  in  fpite  of  the  rain,  and  all  fmoked. 

We  ftaid  among  them  the  reft  of  this  day  and 
all  the  next,  to  kiiow  what  were  their  defigns  and 
ideas  as  to  the  French  poft  among  the  Sioux.  The 
Sieur  Reaume,  interpreter  of  Indian  languages  at 
the   Bay,  adted  jefficiently   there  and   with  devo 


va 


lyo         Father  Guignas  .s  i^'^jyage 

tion  to  the  king's  fcrvicc.  Even  if  my  tcftimony, 
Sir,  (hould  be  deemed  not  impartial,  I  mud  have 
the  honor  to  tell  you  that  Rev.  Father  Chardon,  s 
an  old  mifTionary,  was  of  very  great  aflldance  there, 
and  the  prefencc  of  three  miflionaries  who  were 
there,  reafTured  thefe  cut  throats  and  airafTins  of  the 
French  more  than  all  the  fpeeches  of  the  heft  ora- 
tors could  have  done.  A  general  council  was  con- 
vened in  one  of  the  cabins,  they  were  addreffed  in 
decent  and  friendly  terms,  and  they  replied  in  the 
fame  way.  A  fmall  prefent  was  made  to  them.  In 
their  (ide  they  gave  fome  quite  handfome  difhes 
lined  with  dry  meat. 

On  the  following  Sunday,  1 7th  of  the  month  of 
Auguft,  very  early  in  the  morning,  Father  Chardon 
fet  out  with  Sieur  Reaume  to  return  to  the  Bay, 
and  the  Sioux  company  greatly  rejoiced  to  have  fo 
eafily  got  over  this  difficulty,  which  had  every 
where  been  reprefented  as  fo  infurmountable,  got 
under  way  to  endeavor  to  reach  its  journey's  end. 

Never  was  navigation  more  tedious  than  what 
we  fubfequently  made  from  uncertainty  as  to  our 
courfe.  No  one  knew  it,  and  we  got  aftray  every 
moment  on  water  and  on  land  for  want  of  a  guide, 
and  pilots.  We  kept  on,  as  it  were,  feeling  our 
way  for  eight  days,  for  it  was  only  on  the  9th, 
about  3  o'clock  P.  M.  that  we  arrived  by  accident. 


5  Rev.  John  B.  Chardon,  of  the 
Society  of  Jcfus,  was  on  the  Ottawa 
miflion  in  1703,  and  at  the  Miami 
miflion  of  St.  Jofcph's  in  1 7 1 1 . 
Father  Mareft  fpeaks  of  him  in  high 


terms,  and  Charlevoix,  who  found 
him  at  Green  Bay  in  1721.  docs 
the  fame.  At  the  time  of  this  nar- 
rative he  mu(l  have  been  nearly 
thirty  years  on  the  Weftern  miffions. 


' 


up  the  MiJftJftppL  171 

believing  ourfelvcs  ftill  far  off,  at  the  Portage  of  the 
Ouifcoufin,  which  is  45  leagues  from  the  Foxes, 
counting  all  the  twifts  and  turns  of  this  abominable 
river.  This  portage  is  half  a  league  in  length,  and 
half  of  that  is  a  kind  of  marfh  full  of  mud. 

The  Ouifcoufin  is  quite  a  handfome  river,  but 
far  below  what  we  had  been  told,  apparently 
as  thofe  who  gave  the  defcription  of  it  in  Canada 
faw  it  only  in  the  high  waters  of  fpring.  It  is  a 
ftiallow  river  on  a  bed  of  quickfand  which  forms 
bars  almoft  everywhere,  and  thefe  often  change 
place.  Its  fliores  are  either  fteep,  bare  mountains, 
or  low  points  with  fandy  bafe.  Its  courfe  is  from 
N.  E,  to  S.  W.  From  the  portage  to  its  mouth  in 
the  Miffiflipi,  I  eftimated  38  leagues.  The  port- 
age is  at  430  24m.  north  latitude. 

The  Miffiflipi  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ouifcoufin 
afcending  goes  northweft.  This  beautiful  river 
extends  between  two  chains  of  high,  bare  and  very 
fterile  mountains,  conftantly  a  league,  three  quar- 
ters of  a  league,  or  where  it  is  narrowcft  half  a 
league  apart.  Its  centre  is  occupied  by  a  chain  of 
well  wooded  iflands,  fo  that  regarding  from  the 
heights  above,  you  would  think  you  faw  an  endlefs 
valley  watered  on  the  right  and  left  by  two  large 
rivers ;  fometimes,  too,  you  could  difcern  no  river. 
Thefe  iflands  are  overflowed  every  year  and  would 
be  adapted  to  raifing  rice.  Fifty-eight  leagues 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ouifcoufin,  according  to 
my  calculation,  afcending  the  Miffiffipi  is  Lake 
Pepin,  which  is  nothing  elfe  but  the  river  itfelf. 


172  Father  Guignass  Voyage 

deftitute  of  iflands  at  that  point,  where  it  may  be 
half  a  league  wide.  This  river  in  what  I  traverfed 
of  it  is  fhaliow  and  has  (hoals  in  feveral  places,  be- 
caufe  its  bed  is  a  moving  fand,  like  that  of  the 
Ouifcoufin. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  1727,  at  noon,  we 
reached  this  lake,  which  had  been  chofen  as  the 
bourne  of  our  voyage.  We  planted  ourfelves  on 
the  (hore  about  the  middle  of  the  north  fide  un  a 
low  point  where  the  foil  is  excellent.  The  wood 
is  very  denfe  there,  but  it  is  already  thinned  in  con- 
fequence  of  the  rigor  and  length  of  the  wintcT, 
which  has  been  fevere  for  the  climate,  for  we  are 
here  on  the  parallel  of  43°  41m.  It  is  true  that  the 
difference  of  the  winter  is  great  compared  to  that 
at  Quebec  and  Montreal ;  for  all  that  fome  poor 
judges  fay. 

From  the  day  after  our  landing  we  put  our  axes 
to  the  wood;  on  the  fourth  day  following  the  fort 
was  entirely  finiflied.^  It  is  a  fquare  plat  of  1 00  feet, 
furrounded  by  pickets  twelve  feet  long  with  two 
good  baftions.  For  fo  fmall  a  fpace  there  are  large 
buildings,  quite  diftindl  and  not  huddled  together, 
each  30,  38  and  25  feet  long  by  16  feet  wide.  All 
would  go  well  there  if  the  fpot  were  not  inundated ; 
but  this  year  on  the  1 5th  of  the  month  of  April, 
we  were  obliged  to  camp  out,  and  the  water  afcended 

6  Perrot  took  pofTcflion  of  Lake  cxiftencc  of  a  Fort  Perrot  at  this 

Pepin,  May  8,    1689  (fee  A61  in  time,  but  his  trading  pod  was  ef 

JV.  Y.   Col.   Doc,  ix,  418),   Le  tablifhcd  at  a  later  date  in  ail  pro- 

Sueur  and  the  Rev.  J.  J.   Marcft  bability. 
being  prefent,  and  fome  fuppofe  the 


\\ 


m 


\ 


.  w 


^Up  the  Mijftjfippu  173 

to  the  height  of  two  feet  eight  inches,  in  the  houfes, 
and  it  is  idle  to  fay  that  it  was  the  quantity  of 
fnow  that  fell  this  year.  The  fnow  in  the  vicinity 
had  melted  long  before,  and  there  was  abfolutely 
only  a  foot  and  a  half  from  the  8th  of  February  to 
the  1 5  th  of  March,  all  the  reft  of  the  winter  you 
could  not  ufe  fnow  (hoes. 

I  have  great  reafon  to  think  that  this  fpot  is  in- 
undated more  or  lefs  every  year ;  I  have  always 
thought  fo ;  but  they  were  not  obliged  to  believe 
me,  as  old  people  who  faid  they  had  lived  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  declared  that  it  was  never  overflowed. 
We  could  not  enter  our  much  devaftated  houfes  till 
the  30th  of  the  fame  month  of  April  and  the  dif- 
order  is  fcarcely  repaired  even  now.* 

Before  the  end  of  Oftober  all  the  houfes  were 
finiihed  and  furnifhed,  and  each  one  found  himfelf 
tranquilly  lodged  at  home.  They  then  thought 
only  of  going  out  to  explore  the  neighboring  hills 
and  rivers,  to  fee  thofe  herds  of  all  kinds  of  deer,  of 
which  they  tell  fuch  ftories  in  Canada.  They  muft 
have  retired  or  diminifhed  greatly  fince  the  time 
that  the  old  voyageurs  left  the  country ;  they  are  no 
longer  in  fuch  great  numbers,  and  are  killed  with 
difficulty. 

After  beating  the  field  for  fome  time  all  reaflfem- 
bled  at  the  fort,  and  thought  only  of  enjoying  a 
little  the  fruit  of  their  labors. 

On  the  4th  of  the  month  of  November  we  did 

6  The  waters  did  not  however     Co/.  Doc,  jx,  lo,  i6). 
reach  the  Fort  in  1728.    {N.  T. 


174  Father  Guignas's  Voyage 

not  forget  that  it  was  the  General  birthday. ^  Mafs 
was  faid  for  him  in  the  morning,  and  they  were 
well  difpofed  to  celebrate  the  day  in  the  evening, 
but  the  tardinefs  of  the  pyrotechnifts  and  the  in- 
conftancy  of  the  weather  caufed  them  to  poftpone 
the  celebration  to  the  14th  of  the  fame  month, 
when  they  fet  off  fome  very  fine  rockets,  and  made 
the  air  ring  with  a  hundred  fhouts  of  Five  le  Roy 
and  Fhe  Charles  de'Beauharnois.  It  was  on  this 
occafion  that  the  wine  of  the  Sioux  was  broached ; 
it  was  par  excellence^  although  there  are  no  vines 
here  finer  than  in  Canada.  What  contributed  much 
to  the  amufement  was  the  terror  of  fome  cabins  of 
Indians,  who  were  at  the  time  around  the  fort. 
When  thefe  poor  people  faw  the  fireworks  in  the 
air,  and  the  ftars  fall  from  heaven,  the  women  and 
children  began  to  take  flight,  and  the  mod  cour- 
ageous of  the  men  to  cry  mercy  and  implore  us 
very  earneflly  to  ftop  the  furprifing  play  of  that 
wonderful  medicine. 

As  foon  as  we  arrived  among  them,  they  aflembled 
in  a  few  days  around  the  French  fort  to  the  num- 
ber of  95  cabins  which  might  make  in  all  150  men  ; 
for  they  are  at  moft  two  men  in  their  portable  cabins 
of  dreffed  fkins,  and  in  many  there  is  only  one.  This 
is  all  that  we  have  feen  except  a  band  of  about  60 
men,  who  came  on  the  26th  of  the  month  of 
February,  who  were  of  thofe  nations  called  Sioux 
of  the  Prairies. 

At  the  end  of  November  the  Indians  fet  out  for 
their  winter  quarters ;  they  do  not  indeed  go  far,  and 

7  Or  rather  Saints'  Day,  being    the  feaft  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo. 


\ 


\      ♦ 


1 


up  the  Miffifftppi,  175 

we  faw  fome  of  them  all  through  the  winter,  but 
from  the  fccond  of  the  month  of  April  laft,  when 
fome  cabins  repafled  here  to  go  in  fearch  of  them, 
[he]  fought  them  in  vain  during  a  week  for  more 
than  fixty  leagues  up  the  Mifliflipi.  He  arrived 
yefterday  without  any  tidings  of  them. 

Although  I  faid  above  that  the  Sioux  were 
alarmed  at  the  rockets,  which  they  took  for  new 
phenomena,  it  muft  not  be  fuppofed  from  that  they 
are  lefs  intelligent  than  other  Indians  we  know. 

They  feem  to  me  more  fo,  at  leaft  they  are  much 
gayer  and  open  apparently  and  far  more  dexterous 
thieves,  great  dancers  and  great  medicine  men. 
The  men  are  almoft  all  large  and  well  made ;  but 
the  women  are  very  ugly  and  difgufting,  which 
does  not  however  check  debauchery  among  them, 
and  is  perhaps  an  efFed  of  it.^ 

8  Here,  moft  unfortunately,  ends 
the  extradl  from  the  letter  of  Father 
Guignas  as  preferved  among  the 
papers  of  the  Geographer  Buache, 
and  now  in  the  pofleflion  of  Mr. 
Brevoort.  Thp  fubfequent  events 
in  that  region  ai ;  of  great  intcreft, 
and  we  are  cfp"jially  in  the  dark  as 
to  the  movemeji'i  ■  f  tht  party  at 
Fort  Feauhiirnc 'i.  In  fpite  of 
Guignas' opiniot?.  of  die  Foxes,  they 
continued  hoS-.hties,  and  in  1728, 
the  year  of  this  letter,  d(  Ligneris 
marche(^  ..^  '.nft  them.  Thcnadcrs 
had  prcvioufly  withdrav/n  to  a  great 
extent  from  Fort  Bcauharnois,  and 
Father  Giiignas  in  attempting  to 
reach  the  Illinois  country  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Mafcoutcns  and 
Kickapoos,  who    fided    with   the 


Foxes,  and  remained  a  prifoner  for 
five  months,  narrowly  efcaping  a 
death  by  torture  at  the  ftake.  His 
captors  then  took  him  to  the  Illi- 
nois country  and  left  him  there  on 
parole  till  November,  1729,  when 
they  led  him  back  to  their  town. 
Noiliing  has  yet  appeared  to  (how 
whether  he  then  returned  to  the 
Fort  or  whether  he  made  his  way 
to  fome  other  French  port.  In 
1736  he  again  appears  on  Lake 
Pepin  with  M.  de  St.  Pierre,  per- 
haps the  fame  to  whom  Wafliington 
at  a  later  date  prcfcnted  Dinwid- 
dic's  letter.  Father  Guignas  flgned 
his  name,  Louis  Ignatius  Guignas, 
but  I  have  found  nothing  of  his 
earlier  or  later  hiftory. 


^^^^^^^^■^^'j^^llififitiiiaiiMiliiB  t 


\^: 


APPENDIX. 


FTER  the  firft  ftieets  of  this  volume  were 
printed,   I  received  Thomafly's  Ghlogie  Pra- 
tique de  la  Loui/ianCy  which  contains  the  ori- 
ginal of  the  following  extradt  from  a 


Letter  of  Mr,  de  la  Salle  to  the  Marquis  de 

Seignelay. 


Western  Mouth  of  the  River  Colbert, 
My  Lord : 


March  4,  1685, 


1 


....  The  feafon  being  far  advanced  and  feeing 
that  very  little  time  was  left  me  to  accomplifh  the 
enterprize  I  had  undertaken,  I  refolved  to  afcend 
this  channel  of  the  river  Colbert,  rather  than  return 
to  the  more  confiderable  one,  diftant  twenty-five  or 
thirty  leagues  from  here  northwefterly,  which  we  had 
remarked  on  the  6th  of  January,  but  had  been  unable 
to  recognize,  believing  from  the  ftatement  of  the  pilots 
of  his  m^efty's  veflel  and  ours,  that  we  had  not  yet 
pafled  Efpiritu  Santo  Bay  (that  of  Mobile)  ;  but  at 
laft,  after  conftantly  coafting  along  very  near  land  and 
in  good  weather,  the  latitude  made  us  perceive  that 
they  were  miftaken,  and  that  what  we  had  feen  on  the 
fixth  of  January  was  in  fad  the  main  entrance  of  the 
river  that  we  were  feeking.  If  fpring  had  njt  been  fo 
near,  I  would  have  gone  back.     Fear  of  fpending  the 


178 


Appendix. 


reft  of  the  winter  in  running  eaftward,  from  which 
diredlion  the  winds  blow  almoft  conftantly,  and  drive 
the  current  weftward,  made  me  refolve  to  afcend  the 
river  here,  and  to  alk  Mr.  de  Beaulieu'  to  go  and  re- 
connoitre that  other  mouth  to  give  an  account  of  it  to 
your  Lordfhip.  This  one  is  fituated  at  28°  18'  or  20' 
N.  latitude :  the  channel  is  wide  and  deep  within  the 
bar,  there  being  almoft  everywhere  five  or  fix  fathoms 
of  water.  It  is  true  that  there  are  only  two  fathoms 
on  the  higheft  bank,  at  leaft  at  this  feafon,  when  the 
river  being  frozen  in  all  its  branches  has  too  little  force 
to  clear  the  channel  and  drive  back  the  fand  which  the 
fea  continually  throws  in.  It  is  alfo  to  be  remarked 
that  when  the  wind  has  been  long  blowing  off  fliore, 
the  water  diminifhes  fo  that  fonietimes  there  remain 
only  ten  feet  on  the  bar,  as  we  remarked  the  day  our 
four  pilots  founded  there,  of  which  they  drew  up  a 
ftatement.  But  when  the  water  is  driven  back  by 
winds  from  the  gulf,  there  is  as  much  as  thirteen  feet 
of  water,  efpecially  at  the  new  moons,  when  the  tides 
are  greateft  at  leaft  in  winter.  Thefe  two  channels 
iflue  from  a  very  long  and  very  wide  bay  into  which 
the  river  Colbert  empties.  The  water  is  as  fait  as  that 
of  the  fea.  There  is  a  tide  there,  and  as  you  cannot 
fee  acrofs,  it  was  eafy  for  me  to  be  deceived  on  landing 
and  to  take  for  fea  this  expanfe  of  fait  water,  of  which 
we  could  not  fee  the  end  and  which  I  could  not  crofs 
having  only  bark  canoes.  This  kind  of  fandy  ifland 
which  lies  between  the  fea  and  this  fair  lake,  flopping 


I  The  Count  de  Bcaujeu,  who 
bears  i.mch  of  the  blame  of  La 
Salle's  difaftcr  (ante  p.  17,  19),  was 
a  navr !  fficer  of  diftinftion.  At  the 
batcle  of  La  Hoguc,  he  commanded 


the  Si.  Louis,  bearing  the  Maifhal 
Count  (le  Tourvillc.  His  nephew, 
Daniel  Lienard  de  Bcaujeu,  com- 
manded the  French  force  which  de- 
feated Braddock. 


, 


< 


^*aMWrariii3i*ft3fw 


Appendix,  \  yg 

the  force  of  the  waves,  the  river  has  nothing  to  check 
its  courfe,  when  it  empties  into  it,  and  feems  to  form 
a  very  good  port.  But  the  channels  by  which  it 
reaches  the  fea  are  not  fo  healthy  on  account  of  the 
fand  that  the  wind  drives  in. 


.  r,- 


\MllJik 


1   I., 


i    i 


INDEX. 


A  CANSEAS,  69.  71,  7^,  75», 
-^  ■*•  83. 

Akanfcas,  47. 

Akanfeas,  79,  !20,  i;;,  126. 

Akafquy,  tribe  mentioned  by  Cavc- 
lier,  39. 

Alakea,  tribe  mentioned  by  Cave- 
Her,  39. 

Alexander,  brother,  56,  83,  8;, 

Alligator,  account  of,  39,  131. 

Anamis,  tribe  mentioned  by  Cave- 
lier,  40;  village  burnt,  41. 

Apkaw,  52. 

Arkanfas  (fee  Acanfeas,  Akanfcas, 
Akanfeas,  Kappa,  Quappaws, 
Sauthouis,  &c.);  a  Dacotah  tribe, 
75»;  divifions, 76/f,  131;  driven 
from  the  Ohio,  1 20/r ;  firft  vifit- 
ed  by  Marquette,  126;  byTonty 
and  Montigny,  70;  wafted  by 
fmall  pox,  72 ;  defcription  of 
village,  74 ;  Gravier  among  the, 
125,  131. 

Arriola,  Don  Andres,  vifits  French, 
I  $4:  accident  to,  i;;. 

Aflinais  or  Senis,  Texas  Indians,  31. 

Afliniboils,  account  of,  106. 

Aveneau,  Rev.  Claude,  iii;,  1 16». 

Ayavois  (lowas),  101-107. 


DAHAMOS,  Texas  Indians,  2 ir. 
■"^  Baiougoulas,  account  of,  I50»; 

maflacre    Mongoulachas,    1 50 ; 

promife  to  rebuild  chapel,  151; 

cuftoms  of,   152;  Gravier  bap- 
tizes a  child  of  the,  157. 
Barr,  Capt.,  enters  the  Mifliflippi, 

158. 
Bear,  Illinois  chief,  oppofes  Mon- 

tigni,  61. 
Beauharnois,  Marquis  de,  167. 
Beaujeu,  Count  de,  commands  fleet 

carrying  La  Salle,  17, 178;  leaves 

him,  19. 
Beaulieu,  M.  de,  178. 
Bergier,  Rev.  J.,  (ketch  of,  117ft.; 

at  Tamarois,  117. 
Beftikwi (Piftakee),  ;i. 
Bienville,  M.  de,  notice  of,  1 48*. 
Bilocchi  Indians,  IS3,  154/r. 
Biloxi,  91,1 50;  new  and  old,  1 54».; 

Gravier's  vifit  to,  156. 
Black  river,  97^. 
Blue  or  Blue  Earth  River,  101-2. 
Bon  Secours  River,  97. 
Bracamos,  Texas  Indians,  attack  La 

Salle,  20, 30;  make  peace,  21,22. 
Buache,  17^/1. 
Buffalo  river,  g7n, 
Buinatcau,  Rev.  J.,  53*,  53,  64. 


Ml 


( 

IJ 


l82 


Indi 


ans. 


/^ADDODAQUIOS,  149. 
^  Cadogdachos,  Texas  Indi 

3>«.  149- 
Cahokias,  49,  62,  66-7,  1 1 8. 

Cailhere,  Chev,  de  la,  90. 

Calumet,  dance  of,  71  ;  Gravicr's 
account  of,  128-9;  meaning  of 
word,  130. 

Canohaiinno,  36». 

Caoukias,  62,  66-7. 

Cap  St.  Antoine,  68. 

Cape  St.  Croix,  119. 

Carancagues,dc'>roy  La  Salle's  party 
in  Texas,  42*. 

Carrcchias  (Cahokias),  62,  66-7. 

Cafquinambo  (Tenneflce),  1 24. 

Catillon,  on  Texan  pearls,  23. 

Cavelier,  Rev.  John,  notice  of,  1 5» ; 
his  account  of  la  Salle's  laft  voy- 
age, 1 3-42 ;  Joutel'^  remarks  on, 
29;  Gravier's  allufion  to,  160. 

Cavelier,  Robert,  fee  La  Salle  (de). 

Cavvechias  (i.  e.  Cahokias),  66. 

Chabot,  Pierre,  122. 

rhiiTipigny,  M.  de,  90. 

Chaouanoua  (Shawnces),  120, 125. 

C^1ranon  (Shawnee),  6on,  66. 

Carbonneau,  57,  64. 

Chardon,  Rev  J.  B.,  170. 

Chcfdc-bois,  roadflead  near  Ro- 
chelle,  17. 

Chcgoiniegon,  89/r. 

Chekaihas  (i.e.Chekachas  orChlck- 
afaws),  60. 

Chicachas,  60,  70. 

Chicago,  49,  51,  84,  85,  115; 
early  notices  of,  49^ ;  Jcfuit  mif- 
fion  at,  53,  55,  115;  country 
from  Tamaiois,  85. 

Chicagoua,  U5. 

Chingouabe,  90. 

Chippeway  river,  97*. 


ex, 

Chippi.  *ays,  89*,  90. 

Chouanon  (Shawnees),  66. 

C^nftinaux,  account  of,  106. 

Li 0(1  nc,  90. 

CoUpcflas,  159. 

Colhcrt  river,  fee  Mifliflippi, 

Comar  :hc»,  93^. 


177. 


p)'AIRE,  Chevalier,  Bcaujeu's 

•■-     lieutenant,  19. 

Dakotas,  89*. 

Davion,  Rev.  Anth.,  52;  noiiccof, 

55» ;  founds  Tonica  miflion,  75  ; 

vifited  by  Gravier,  132;  by  St. 

Cofme,  136. 
DcLigncrisi  I75». 
Del  Norte,  Rio,  25,  26. 
De  Muys,  M.,  54,  149/r. 
Defloges,  killed  in  Texas,  zon. 
D'Iberville  cxpeftcd  at  the  mouth 

of  the  Miflifliippi,  85. 
Dinwiddic,  I75». 
Donge,  Rev.         '»,  dies  in  Louifla- 

na,  1 1  iri. 
Douay,  Rev.  Anaftafius,  1 5,  42/r. 

PARTHQUAKE,  70. 
*^  Engltih  among  Arkanfas,  1 26. 
Efpiritu  Santo  Bay,  18,  177, 
Efpiritu  Santo  (Galvellon)  bay,  21. 

PEVER  River,  94*. 

*"     Follcs  Avoines,  48. 

Fort  Beauharnais,  167,  172. 

Fort  Bilocchi,  Gravier's  account  of, 

156;  vifit  to,  156;  abandoned, 

162. 
Fort  of  the  Miffiffippi,  account  of, 

152;  abandoned,  162. 
Fort  Mobile,  162. 
Fort  Perrot,  ijtn. 


Index. 


77- 


u's 


I  of. 
St. 


«      ' 


uth 

fia- 
n, 

{6. 

SI. 


of, 
of. 


Tort  Prud'homme,  why  fo  called. 

Fort  St.  Louis,  built  by  La  Salle,  20 ; 

furvivors  of  maflacrc  at,  160. 
Fort  of  St.  Louis  Bay,  20,  160. 
Foxes,  48  ;  Guignas's  account  of, 

169;  war  with,  175*. 

CyOLD  in  Texas,  26. 

^"^  Grapes,  124. 

Gravier,    R         James,    flcetch   of, 

115*;  viyagc  down  the  Miflif- 

fippl,  ■       r6^;  loft  near  Biloxi, 

156. 
Green  b:  ,,  ,  on,  48,  168. 

Guignas,  Rev,  L.  I  ,  fketch  of,  1 7S«; 

voyage  to  Lake  Fepin,  165-175. 

fJEBAHAMOS,  zm. 

Hemme,  Louis  de,  121. 

Hennepin,  allufion  to,  158. 

Hiambouxeate  Onataba,  99. 

Hinhanetons,  Sioux,  in. 

Houmas,  I43»;  miflion  founded  by 
du  Ru,  118;  his  chapel,  144; 
Gravier's  account  of  143;  trea- 
chery of  Tonicas  to,  ion,  i43»; 
games,  143  ;  temple,  144 ;  chief, 
tanefs,  144;  Father  de  Limoges 
begins  his  miflion,  145  ;  poultry, 
1 46  J  cuftoms,  147;  allies  of 
Mongoulachas,  150. 

IBERVILLE,  notice  of,  140*;  ex- 
pefted,  85;  kinfman  of  Le  Sueur, 
89« ;  leaves  a  man  at  Natchez, 
140;  inftruftions  as  lo  Span- 
iards, 154. 

Illinois  river,  84. 


183 


Indian  tribes : 

Acanfeas,  69-83. 

Ahijitos,  31/r. 

Akafquy,  39. 

Alakea,  39. 

Arkanfas,  47,  69-83,  120-6. 

Aflinais,  31/r. 

Aflinipoils,  106.  ' 

Aflbnis,  I39». 

Ayavois)  101-7. 

Bahamos,  21/r. 

Baiougoulas,  150-2,  ( ?•/. 

Bracamos,  20,  21,  ju. 

Cadogdachos,  3i»,  149*. 

Cahokias,  49^,  61-7. 

Canohatinno,  36«. 

Carancagues,  42*. 

Cafquinambo,  124/r. 

Charanon,  60. 

Chicachas,  60,  70. 

Chouanon,  66. 

Chriftinaux,  106. 

Ccenis,  31. 

Folles  Avoines,  48. 

Foxes,  48,  169,  i75». 

Hebahamos,  2i». 

Houmas,  8o»,  iig,  140-150. 

Illinois,  49V. 

lowas,  ioi«. 

Jakous,  133. 

Kadodakio,  149. 

Kanoutinoa,  36. 

Kappas,  70. 

Karkinonpols,  60. 

Kalkafkia,  49?;,  116,  150. 

Kavvkias,  61,  67. 

Kickapoos,  95,  I75». 

Kiouahaa,  149. 

Kolapiflas,  150,  159. 

Kouaras,  34)7. 

Mahas,  107. 


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Index, 


Indian  tribes : 

Manuntons,  io$-iii. 
Mafcoutens,  50,  92, 175*. 
Mendeouacanions,  104,  iii. 
Menomonees,  489. 
Metchigameas,  490. 
Moingonas,  49». 
Mongoulachas,  150. 
MotarAins,  $0. 
Moulngouena,  116. 
Nacogdoches,  319. 
Nadocogs,  3i». 
Nagcodoches,  3i». 
Naflbnis,  3i». 
Natchitos,  149/ir. 
Natfohos,  149*. 
Navcdachos,  3i». 
Noquets,  48. 
Ontotonta,  28^  loi. 
Otofktas,  104. 
Ottawas,  45-7. 
Ottoes,  10  Iff. 
Oujalefpoitous,  104,  iiii 
Oumas,  1 1 89. 
Ounfpik,  133. 
Ozages,  74. 
Paduc»hs,  93. 
Palomas  or  PaIona8«  38. 
Panifmaha,  28. 
Paoutees,  93. 
Per^nzichias,  58. 
Penoy,  39. 
Peorias,  490,  $9 
Peouaroua,  116. 
Poutouatamis,  49. 
Fuants,  48,  168. 
Quanoatinno,  36. 
Quapaws,  70. 
Quaras,  340. 
Quelanhubechcs,  2 iff. 
Quinets,  2  iff. 
Sacs,  49. 


Indian  tribes : 

Saflbry,  39. 

Sauteux,  90. 

Sauthouis,  76,  131. 

Senis,  31*,  149,  160. 

Shawnees,  24-9,  60,  120.- 

Sioux,  90-3,  IOI-3,  III,  167. 

Sioux  of  (he  Prairies,  174. 

Sitteoui,  131. 

Songafquitons,  iii. 

Sonontouans,  69. 

Tamarois,  499,  66. 

Texas,  3  iff. 

Ticapanas,  35. 

Tinungaonghiatons,  iii. 

Tipoy,  40. 

Tonica,  Toumika,  Tounika,  133 

Toriman,  76,  126,- 131. 

Totichouaefintons,  iii. 
'    Toyengan,  76. 

Tyakappan,  35. 

Winnebagoes,  48,  168. 

Xaranamas,  340. 
Indians  of  Lower  Mifiiflippi,  157. 
Infcription  fet  dp  by  Iberville,  163. 
Inyanbofndata,  99. 
lowas,  1 01. 
Iron  mines,  122. 

JAKOU,  Indians,  133. 
Jefuit  miflions  ,Michtlimaldnac, 
46;  Green  Bay,  49;  Chipago, 
52;  Illinois,  59;  Houmas,  80. 
Joutel  cited,   17-42;    remark  on 
Cavelier,  290. 

I/*  ADODAKIOS,  149. 
■*^Kankakee  river,  57. 
Kanoutinoa,  Texas  Indians,  36*. 
Kaoukia,  118;  fee  Cahokia. 
Kappas,  Arkanfas,  70 ;  village,  72  ; 
aidLymoges,  125;  Gravier  at. 


Index. 


185 


iz6 }  crofs  planted  at  by  Mon- 
tigny,  126;  remember  Mar- 
quette, 128. 

Karkinonpols,  60;  fee  Cafquinambo. 

Kaikaikias,  Illinois  tribe,  499 ;  re- 
moval of,  ii6j  form  a  village 
with  Peorias,  1 50. 

Kavvchias,  67 ;  feeCahokias. 

Kickapoos,  join  Foxes,  17591  uke 
Guignas  pri/bner,  lb. 

Kiouahaa,  149. 

Kipikawi  or  Kipikuflewi,  50,  52. 

Kolapiflas,  allies  of  Mongoulachas, 
150,  159. 

Kouaras.  Tems  tribe,  34. 

T  A  Crofle  river,  95*. 
-*^  Lake  Michigan,  47,  52,  168. 
Lake  Pepin,  98 ;  fettlement  on,  1 72. 
Lamberville,  Rev.  J.,  letter  to,  1 1 5. 
La  Perriere  eftabliues  Fort  Beau- 

hamau,  167. 
La  Place,  100. 
La  Pointe,  Augoftin,  121. 
La  Salle,  Robert  Cavelier  de,  Iketch 

of,  1 5« ;  his  laft  voyage,  1 3-42  ; 

mifles  mouth  of  Miffiffippi,  20; 

letter  to  Seignelay,  177;  builds 

fort  in  Texas,  20, 160 ;  attempts 

to  reach  Miffiilippi,  23  ;  reaches 

it  according  to  Cavelier,   29  ; 

fecond  expedition,  31 1  third,  34; 

whirlpool  defcribed  by,    137; 

channel   mentioned   by,     151 ; 

death,  158. 
La  Vaca  river,  its  names,  20*;  La 

Salle's  fort  at  mouth,  20. 
La  Violette,   marries   an  Illinois 

fouaw,  63. 
Le  Clercq  cited,  2911. 
Le  Sueur's  voyage  up  the  Miffiffippi, 

87-1 1 1 ;  account  of,  89*;  1 72* ; 


kinfman  of  Iberville,  ib ;  meets 

war  party,  96;  meets  Sioux,  100; 

fettles  on  the  Mankato,    loi ; 

Tiofcate's  relatives,  107 ;  aflem- 

bles  Sioux,  108. 
L'huillier,  M.,  aflfays  copper,  105. 
Lymoges,  Rev.  Jofeph  de,  1 1 8;  penl 

of,  12;,  128,  147;  Us  Houma 

miiBoii,  146-7. 

\TAHAS,  107. 

^^  Mankato  river,  loi. 

Mantantous  Sioux,  kill  French*  105, 

109,  no.  III. 
Marais,  or  Marays,  Rev.  «i— i,  ;o, 

f  9.  See  Mareft. 
Marameg  R.,  1 19*. 
Mareft,  Rev.  G.,  50,  $9, 92, 1 16 ; 

follows  Kafkafldas,  117. 
Mareft,  Rev.  J.,  at  Lake  Pepin,  1 72. 
Marquette,  Rev.  J.,  explores  MiA 

fiffippi,  126;  dt  Arkanfas,  ib} 

viftt.recolleAed,  128. 
Mafcoutins,  50,  92,  1751*. 
Maflacre  river,  58. 
Matagorda  bay,  zin, 
Mecontins,  92. 
Melwarik,  5a 
Mendeouacantons,  Sioux,  104, 1051 

no.  III. 
Monomonees,  48/r. 
Metcbigamias,  or  Michigamias,  Illi- 

nois  tribe,  499, 67, 92, 1 1 8, 1 27. 
Miamis,  river  of  the,  461  hoftility 

of,  84,  85 ;  thdr  name  for  the 

Ohio,  120. 
Miaramigoua  river,  119. 
Michigan  lake,  47,  52. 
Michillinukinac,45, 79, 115, 1671 

Guignas  at,  168. 
Miefi^an,  lake,  47,  5a. 
Milwaukee,  501 


18 


i86 


Index, 


Mifligan  lake,  52. 

Miffiflippi  or  Colbert  river,  177; 
La  Salle's  attempt  to  reach,  1 3-42 ; 
reaches  it,  29 ;  St.  Cofme's  voyage 
down,  4V75J  routes  to,  49; 
Le  Sueur's  voyage  up,  87-11 1; 
Gravicr's  voyage  down,  1 13-164; 
Guignas's,  165-175;  St.  Cofme's 
defcription,  65 ;  Gravier's,  151-2; 
Guignas's,  171. 

Miflburi  river,  65. 

Mobile,  French  fettle  at,  162. 

Mobile  bay,  177. 

Mobilians,  159,  162. 

Moingonas,  Illinois  tribe,  49. 

Mongoulachas,  maflacred  by  Baiou- 
golas,  150. 

Monjolly,  now  Mount  JoUiet,  legend 
as  to,  56. 

Montigny,  Rev.  F.  J.  de,  ftetch  of, 
520;  baptizes  La  Violet  te's  child, 
63 ;  letter  of,  75 ;  baptizes  a 
Tonica  chief,  78,  81 ;  falls  fick, 
82;  returns,  83;  at  Chicago, 
84 ;  crofs  planted  bv,  119;  goes 
to  Siam,  140,  or  China,  52^. 

Montreal,  167. 

Moranget,  La  Salle's  nephew,  3 1, 34 

Morfi,  Rev.  John  A.,  hiftorian  of 
Texas,  22». 

Mourdtins  (Mafcoutins),  50. 

Mouingouena,  Illinois,  116. 

Mud  lake,  540. 

Mufquitoes,  161. 

I^ACOGDOCHES,  Texas  In- 
^^   dians,  31/r. 
Nadocogs,  Texas  Indians,  310. 
Nagcodoches,  Texas  Indians,  31^. 
Naflbnis,  Texas  Indians,  3  in. 
Natches,  76;    (ketch    of,    142^; 
cuftoms,  82,136,  140;  language 


fame  as  Taenfas,  76, 136;  Gra- 
vier's account  of,  136. 
Navedachos,  Texas  Indians,  31*. 

QHIO  river,  69;  river  of  the 
^  Arkanfas,  75;  Gravier's  ac- 
count of,  120. 
Oiitotontas,  28,  loi. 
Oris,  Mr.,  killed,  2off. 
Otchagras,  48. 
OtoAates,  loi.  104,  107. 
Otontanta,  loi. 

Ottawas  (Outdaois,   Outttuaoua), 
_  45.  47.85. 
Ottoes,  10  Iff. 
Ouabachi  (Ohio)  river,  119,  120, 

122. 
Ouacantapai,  103,  107,  109,  no. 
Ouachil  Tamail,    Natchez  chief- 

tainefs,  141. 
Ouadebatons,  Sioux,  in. 
Ouaetemanctons,  Sioux,  in. 
Ouaepatons,  Sioux,  in. 
Ouapeontetons,  Sioux,  in. 
Ouefconfin  (Wifconfm),  95. 
Oughetgeodatons  (Sioux),  in 
Ouifconfin,  171. 
Oujalefpoitous,  104,  107,  in. 
Oumas,  1430.    SeeHoumas. 
Oumiamis,  1 20.     See  Miamis. 
Ounfpik,  133. 
Oufitteoui,  Arkanfas,  131. 
Outagamis  (Foxes),  94,  98. 
Ozages,  74. 

DADOUCAS,  93». 
*     Palomas  or  Palonas,  38. 
Panifmaha  (Pawnees),  28. 
Paouiongha,  Indian  name  of  Father 

de  Lymoges,  125. 
Paoutees,  93. 
Paranas,  510. 


Index. 


187 


Peanzichias  (Pianke(has),  58. 

Pelicans,  69. 

Penitcni  (Pcorias),  65. 

Penoy,  39. 

Penfacola  fettled,  154. 

Peorias,  49»,  59,  65 ;  form  a  vil- 
lage with  Ka/kaikias,  150. 

Pcbuaroua,  1500. 

Permavcvi  (Peoria),  59. 

Perrot,  not  at  Chicago,  5i». 

Petcfcouy,  5  iff. 

Petit  Goavc,  17,  18. 

Pctrifaftions,  123. 

Piefa,  66. 

Pimiteouy,  65JT. 

Pinct,  Rev.  F.,  notice  of,  53*,  59, 
117. 

Piftakec,  Pifticoui,  51*. 

Pointe  aux  Iroquois,  45. 

Pointc  Aleri,  157, 

Pointe  Couple,  131. 

Puutcouatami,  Poux,  49,  94. 

Pfinchatons,  Sioux,  iii. 

Pfmontanhinhintons,  ill. 

Pfioumanitons,  iii. 

Puans  (Winncbagoes),Baiede8,48, 
94,95,  168. 

QUANOATINO,  36». 
Quapaws,  fee  Kappas. 
Quaras,  349. 

Quebec,  78,  84,  160, 173. 
Quelanhubeches,  210. 
Quincapous,  92;  river  of  the,  95. 
Quinets,  21/r. 
Quiopetons,  Sioux,  iii. 

T>  ACINE,  or  Root  river,  son.. 

Racoon  river,  95^. 
'  Reaume,  Sieur,  169. 
Red  river,  97,  148;  tribes  on,  148. 
Reg^'s,  St.  John  Francis,  120,  I2i». 
Riviere  a  Mayot,  124-5;  why  16 
called,  124. 


Riviere  i  la  Mine,  94. 

Riviere  aux  Ailcs,  96. 

Riviere  aux  Bceufs,  93. 

Riviere  aux  Canots,  95. 

Riviere  dcs  Paquilinettcj,  97. 

Riviere  des  Raifins,  97. 

Riviere  Cachec,  95. 

Rochellc,  16,  91. 

Rouenfas,  Illinois  chief,  60. 

Ru,  Rev.  du,  118;  founds  Houma 
miflion,  144;  at  Fort  Biloxi, 
156;  infcription  fet  up^  by,  163. 

CT.  Cofmc,  Rev.  J.  F.  B.  de,  no- 

*^  tice  of,  45*. ;  Voyage  down  the 
Miffiffippi,  43-75;  returns  to 
fcarch  for  loft  boy,  55,  85  ;  at 
Tamarois,  84-5  ;  Natchez,  136. 

St  Croix  river,  100. 

St.  Denis,  Juchereau  de,  149. 

St.  Francis  river,  125. 

St.  Jofeph's  river  (Ohio),  120. 

St.  Louis  (Matagorda)  bay,  21.. 

St.  Michael,  mifTion  of,  167. 

St.  Peter's  river,  loi. 

St.  Pierre,  M.  de,  at  Lake  Pepin, 

}7S' 
Salt  river,  939. 

Sangieftas,  92. 

Saquis  (Sacs),  94. 

Saflbry  Indians,  39. 

Sauteux  (Chippewas),  89,  90, 

Sauthouis  (  Atotchaft,  Ofotonoy,  &c) 

Arkanfas  Indians,  76,  131. 
Scioux  (Dakous),  90-3 ;  diviiions, 

101-2,  III,  174;  manners,  103; 

minion,  167. 
Senis,  La  Salle  vifits,  31,  160;  di- 

vifions,  3i»;  reception  of  Cave- 

lier,  41. 
Shawnees,  lead  La  Salle  to  the  Mif- 
fiffippi, 24,  29 ;  on  the  Tennef- 

fee,  120;  fee  60,  66. 


■MmMMM 


i88 


Index, 


Shipifland,  154, 
SilKwomu,  101. 
Sittfo&i,  Arkanfu.  131. 
Small  pox,  72. 
Songakiuitons,  Sioux*  III, 
Sonontouans  (Senecas),  69. 
Spaniards,  early  traces  in  Texas,  s  1 1 
SpaniOi,  Indians  fpeaking,  37. 
Stag  iftand,  56. 

*T*AENSAS,  76, 81 ;  temple,  77; 
■^    cuftonu,  77,  Sa,  86;  Eood  to 

be  done,  84 ;  language  fame  as 

Natchez,  76, 136;  temple  burnt, 

137;  cruelties,  137. 
Talon,  Peter  and  John,  furvivors 

of  La  Salle's  i)arQr,  160. 
Tamarois,  Illinois  tribe,  49*,  66, 

67, 92 ;  St.  Cofine  founds  miffion 

at,  76,  84;   lai:ge  villa^,  84; 

Scioux  IdUed  at,  93 ;  Pmet  and 

Beigierat,  117,  118. 
Tamarouha,  Tamarois,  117. 
Taogarois  or  Taogria,  124. 
TeaUki  (Theakiki)  river,  57. 
Tenneflee  river,  I20ff,  1249. 
Texas.  Ia  SaUe  lands  in,  19;  fort 

in  20;  winds,  22{  pearls,  23; 

hoftility  of  Indians,  26 ;  Indians, 

31*. 
Tbiumur  de  h  Source,  86/r ;  Letter 

of,  79 ;  at  Tamarois,  85. 
Ticapanas,  or  Tyakappan,  35. 


Tintangpeqaihiatons,  in. 

Tiofate,  death  of  90)  reUdn< 
meet  Le  Sueur,  107. 

Tipoy  Indians,  4a 

Tivet,  compkins  to  Tonty,  6s. 

Tonicas,  early  notice  of,  8(Mr.|  mii^ 
(ion  at,  75, 81 }  cuftoros,  77, 80, 
85*  >33l  baptifm  of  chief,  78, 
81 1  foil  and  climate,  78,  80, 
135;  good  to  be  done,  84} 
Gravier  at,  1 3  2 ;  St.  Cofme,  1 36. 

Tonty,  Henry  de,  accompames 
Montigny,  46;  eulog^um,  47: 
overawes  the  Bear,  61 ;  accufed 
by  Indians,  62;  workafcribedto, 
1^9. 

Tonman,  Arkanfas,  76 ;  cUef  meets 
Gravier,  126,  131. 

Touchouaefintons,  1 1 1. 

Toumika,  131 ;  fee  Tonica. 

Tounika,  132;  fee  Tonica. 

Tourima,  131 ;  feeToriman. 

Toyengan,  Tongenga,  Topinga, 
Arkanfas,  76. 

'17INCENNES,  Sieur  de,  with 
^    St.  Cofme,  46,  50. 

\17ABACHE  (Ohio),  69. 
^  ^    Waa  Ozu,  97. 
Winnebagoes  or  Puants,  48,  168. 
Wifconfin  river,  49,  95,  171. 

VARANAMES,  34». 


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